About TF HTAP
While local and regional emissions sources are the main cause of air pollution problems worldwide, many air pollutants are transported on a hemispheric or global scale, including:• ozone and its precursors
• fine particles
• acidifying substances
• mercury
• persistent organic pollutants
These flows may be important for understanding air pollution problems in population centers and impacts on remote areas.
To develop a fuller understanding of intercontinental transport of air pollution in the Northern Hemisphere, the Executive Body of the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP Convention) established the Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution (TF HTAP) to:
(a) Plan and conduct the technical work necessary to develop a fuller understanding of the hemispheric transport of air pollution for consideration in the reviews of protocols to the Convention;
(b) Plan and conduct the technical work necessary to estimate the hemispheric transport of specific air pollutants for the use in reviews of protocols to the Convention and prepare technical reviews thereon for submission to the Steering Body of EMEP;
(c) Carry out such other tasks related to the above work as the Executive Body may assign to it in the annual work-plan. [See Annex IV of ECE/EB.AIR/83/Add.1]
The Task Force is chaired by Mr. Andre Zuber (European Community) and Mr. Terry Keating (United States). Participation in the Task Force is open to all interested experts. National authorities (both inside and outside the UNECE region), as well as intergovernmental and accredited non-governmental organizations, are encouraged to nominate an individual expert as a national (or organizational) focal point. To nominate an expert as a focal point, please contact the Convention secretariat by e-mail at air.env@unece.org .
The Task Force serves as a forum for international scientific communication and collaboration and as a bridge between the international research community and the international policy community. To focus its work, the Task Force has identified a series of policy-relevant science questions. The Task Force is working to address these questions through periodic assessment reports and through new collaborative research and analysis efforts related to global and regional modeling, emissions and projections, and observations.
Further Reading:
On the LRTAP Convention, see
Homepage for Convention on LRTAP
EUROPE Works Together on Air Pollution
On intercontinental transport of air pollutants in the Northern Hemisphere, see
Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution 2007, Air Pollution Studies No. 16