Report on the Implementation of SILAQ Project
as adopted at the SILAQ Working Group Meeting in Sofia, 20-21 may 1998
- The SILAQ Programme was developed in implementation of one of the four
Sofia Initiatives on the application of the Environmental Action Plan in
Central and Eastern European countries, which was adopted during the Third
"Environment for Europe" ministerial conference in Sofia in 1995.
- The following main areas of action were defined by the countries: 1)
phaseout of lead in gasoline; 2) reduction of sulphur emissions and particulate
matter. The aim of the programme is to assist the co-operation among air
quality experts, when developing and applying measures for the improvement
of the air quality in heavily polluted regions. This co-operation includes
exchange of information about the planned and applied strategies, harmonization
of policies and standards with the European Union, development and implementation
of highly effective national and local strategies, raising awareness and
involving the public in these actions.
- Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia
and Slovenia joined the Working Group. Bulgaria was appointed to chair the
Working Group and the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern
Europe and its Local Office in Sofia were requested to coordinate the programme.
- There are experts from Denmark, Germany, Norway, the United States and
the World Bank who assisted the activities of the Working Group. The organization
was carried out with the crucial financial and technical support of the
United States. Close co-operation with the U.N.Economic Commission for Europe
was established during the course of the work on the programme and for the
preparation of a Pan-European strategy for the phaseout of lead in gasoline.
- Bulgaria organized the final meeting of the group to present an overview
of the work carried out until now and a consolidated report for the region
under review, which will be submitted to the Fourth "Environment for
Europe" conference to be held 23-25 June in Aarhus, Denmark. The report
assesses the state of the air quality and the effectiveness of the adopted
measures, the needs of the countries for further implementation of their
strategies. An assessment of the effectiveness and benefits of the SILAQ
programme was also carried out. Representatives of the countries in the
Working Group were invited to participate, as well as representatives from
the supporting countries (Denmark, Germany, USA, WB).
- The following activities were organized during 1997-1998, the period
in which this programme was implemented: a meeting of the Working Group
and the supporting countries, two regional workshops, collection of information
about the state, the applied and planned measures, two summarizing analytical
(synthesis) reports concerning the two main areas of action were prepared.
- The first workshop in Bourgas in 1997 was devoted to the problems of
the phaseout of lead in the types of gasoline currently used. The exchange
of information and the discussions held assisted the clarification of the
necessary measures and actions, which were adopted in the National Programme
for the Phaseout of Lead in Bulgaria and approved by the Government in April.
The second workshop, which was held in January, 1998 in Bratislava focused
on the impact of sulphur oxides and particulate matters in the air on the
health of the population, the technologies and the economic measures for
the reduction of air pollution. Countries such as the U.S., the Czech Republic
and Poland, where extensive measures for the reduction of emissions from
major polluters (thermal-electric power stations) were undertaken, directed
the attention towards other common sources (local heating with coal, transport,
etc.), which significantly worsen the quality of the air in separate regions,
towns and villages.
- Both synthesis reports contain summarized and analytical information
about the countries, assessments of their possibilities and needs, as well
as proposals for follow up actions. They are published and distributed at
the Aarhus conference as basic documents, which guide the environmental
policy of the region.
- The overview on the actions taken, such as approximation of legislation,
implemented projects, workshops and meetings , gives quite a good promise
for future efficient steps. At the same time the SILAQ programme contributes
to the integration process in Europe.
- Foreign assistance will be necessary to preserve and continue the working
organisation of the SILAQ programme, especially regarding the countries
in which economic reforms are slowly implemented. That is why we would like
to make a proposal for the continuation of the programme and conduct discussions
about the possibilities and prospects for broadening the programme in the
future with the supporting countries and organisations, and with other interested
organisations expressing interest and preparedness to support the programme.
- From point of view of organization, the programme could focus on task
force groups of experts working on concrete problems. The exchange of information
could concentrate on the successful programmes and examples, and it could
open up towards other countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The programme
could participate in the process of donor coordination.
PHASE OUT LEAD IN GASOLINE
- All the SILAQ countries intend to phase out leaded gasoline in different
terms according to their potential abilities but by the year 2003 at the
latest. The countries either have specific phase out plans already in place,
or are in the process of designing national strategies in this field. An
overview of situation presented in this report shows that even though it
may be difficult to meet the planned deadline in some cases, the phase out
is technically and economically feasible.
- The key factors noted by the most of SILAQ countries as needing to be
addressed when designing a successful phase out strategy included:
a) the ability of domestic refineries to supply unleaded gasoline;
b) the feasibility of using unleaded gasoline by vehicle; and
c) the awareness of the public as to the applicability of unleaded gasoline.
- The major constraints to lead phase out - the lack of finance constitutes
a significant barrier in some SILAQ countries (particularly in Bulgaria
and Romania, and to some extent in Poland). Modernization of existing refineries
is technically and economically feasible, but the process requires significant
investments. For instance, the European Investment Bank extended a loan
to the Hungarian main oil refinery in 1998. The loan, with a 15-year maturity
period, will cover approximately half of the required investment costs of
the necessary technical upgrades. With a proper mix of tax incentives and
stricter regulations, refineries will have to look more actively for the
necessary funding.
- Another obstacle to the phase out of lead in gasoline is the structure
of vehicle fleets, which in the SILAQ countries are characterized by fairly
high average age, low turnover rates, and a relatively high share of vehicles
with soft exhaust valve seats engines. As for the latter concern, there
are already commercially available alternative lubricants which are not
based on lead. Some countries have already introduced gasoline with potassium
or sodium based lubricants (e.g., Slovakia's phase out, or "Aral"
in Hungary) and experience with those has been successful. Moreover, there
is evidence that many cars previously thought to need leaded gasoline can
operate using unleaded gasoline.
- Next rationale to phase out lead from gasoline is the introduction of
the requirement for mandatory fitting of catalytic converters (which can
only be installed for engines using unleaded gasoline). A review of existing
studies and available information on the lead phase out process in the EU
and other West European countries shows that requirements for catalytic
converters (implemented on a EU-wide level in 1993) help to gradually increase
the market share of unleaded gasoline, although this development was further
supported by the use of appropriate tax incentives. However, for the SILAQ
countries, with low vehicle turnover rates, the impact of the requirement
for converters alone is not sufficient to significantly increase the market
share of unleaded gasoline, and the process needs to be driven by other
policy components. Among other things, an appropriate tax differentiation
system will have to be introduced to ensure that the higher manufacturing
cost for unleaded gasoline is not reflected by the higher pump price of
unleaded gasoline at the gas station.
- Awareness raising measures will have to be widely used to overcome the
lack of information among the public as to vehicle's ability to use unleaded
gasoline. This is particularly important for that segment of the vehicle
fleet which can use both leaded and unleaded gasoline. Mass media information
campaigns and brochures available at gasoline stations and vehicles technical
control centers are possible means to increase awareness of the rationale
and benefits from the phase out of lead in gasoline.
- Based on the findings presented in this report, further steps will have
to be taken by the SILAQ countries in the following areas:
a) Ensuring access to the necessary financing for refinery modernization;
b) Technological development of refineries;
c) Introduction and enforcement of vehicle emission and gasoline standards;
d) Needs assessment for the development and use of non-lead lubricating additives;
e) Development of the distribution systems to improve the supply of unleaded gasoline and lubricating additives;
f) Introduction and modernization of the control system for periodic technical inspection of vehicles;
g) Implementation of the requirement for the fitting of catalytic converters and other pollution control devices on cars;
h) Implementation of policy incentives (economic instruments, e.g., taxes, pricing) to increase the market share of unleaded gasoline and speed up complete phase out;
i) Research into the feasibility of alternative additives required unleaded gasoline use in cars with soft exhaust valve seats;
j) Public information and outreach campaign about the applicability of unleaded gasoline in older types of cars;
k) Exchange of experience with other countries phasing out leaded gasoline;
l) Requirement of lead phase out in negotiations leading to privatization of refineries;
m) Raising awareness regarding the health benefits of lead phase out.
REDUCING OF SO2 AND PARTICULATE EMISSIONS
- The database collected could help in developing and implementing the
national or municipal strategies for least cost reduction of SO2 and particulate
matter. The information could be very helpful to officials and the public.
Further dissemination of the information on the SO2 and particulate emission
impacts and mitigation measures is required and public participation is
encouraged.
- The existing country studies and data collected on SO2 and particulate
emissions provide a serious background for future knowledge transfer. Filling
the information gaps, both in terms of data and supplementary materials
for selected "hot spots" areas in each country should be the key
point for future studies. Special attention should be given to the regions
heavily affected by the emissions from industry and the energy sector. Taking
into account the indicators and criteria for sustainable development, a
multinational project on the assessment of cleaning systems for different
flue gases and technologies could be very useful and could give impetus
for joint implementation.
- As a follow up, some necessary feasibility studies, pilot investments
and assistance needs are summarized as follows:
1) Sharing the experience in harmonising environmental legislation, monitoring and control systems with EU - difficulties, impacts, lessons learned;
2) Workshops for sharing foreign experience on economic incentives used in air quality management;
3) Improved monitoring, especially with regard to small size particulate matter;
4) Sharing experience in terms of innovative and effective regulatory approaches; implementation instruments;
5) Development of indicators and criteria for assessment of the flue gas desulfurisation systems in terms of sulphur oxides and other impurities content;
6) Core case studies for human health status and environmental losses in selected "hot spots" areas;
7) Short term monitoring projects and data assessment related to specific air quality problems;
8) Improving the understanding of the contribution of various emission sources to ambient air quality, and disseminating the outcome of studies;
10) Feasibility studies and demonstration projects addressing options for SO2 and particulate matter emission reduction:a) implementation of industrial scale installations;
b) feasibility studies and demonstration projects for clean technologies in coal fired units working with coal with high sulfur content;
c) low cost measures for local air quality management;
d) energy efficiency,
e) other "win-win" approaches.11) Study tour and workshops on SO2 and particulate matter reduction, as well as on local air management;
12) Information campaigns and public awareness rising;
13) Status report for official and public use.
- Activities could be undertaken focusing on particular "hot spots":
preparation of integrated air quality management plans and action programs
including industry, power generation, traffic, households; identification
of least-cost approaches; preparation of feasibility studies; cross-country
assessment of the operational efficiency of pollution abatement technologies,
influencing factors; demonstration projects of low-cost measures, cleaner
technologies, energy efficiency, other win-win approaches integrating the
efforts of responsible national and local authorities.
THE ROLE OF EXCHANGE OF EXPERIENCE
- One of the main objectives of the SILAQ programme is to identify valuable
information on local air pollution control strategies, their implementation
and the facilitation of exchange. The collected data helped to compare the
steps taken by the different countries to harmonise policies, standards
and regulations among themselves and with regard to international practices
and approximation to the EU.
- The exchanged information among participating countries is beneficial.
The policy measures and information, related to the economic instruments
and technology solutions used and reported by experts of the World Bank,
the US EPA, the Danish EPA, Germany and Norway during the workshops had
a catalytic effect on the SILAQ countries and might be used as guidelines
for future actions to better community health.
- It is very important that the central and local governments know the
public opinion on the policy and measures which are to be undertaken and
planned. That is why in the future the programme should be directed towards
techniques for monitoring public opinion.
- The SILAQ programme assisted the countries in learning more about their
own problems and about each other. Specific and common problems were discussed
jointly during the seminars. While utilising a relatively small amount of
funds, the programme proved to be beneficial to the countries. This included
tips on how to address specific problems without foreign assistance and
relying solely on the countries' own resources.
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
- A determined effort to succeed in the reduction of ambient air pollution
has been demonstrated by the SILAQ countries and their supporters over the
last three years. Yet for some countries the process of phase out lead in
gasoline will last until 2003, and so it is obvious that the largest of
tasks still lies ahead for some of the countries.
- As most of CEE and NIS countries face similar problems and obstacles,
there is a demonstrated need across the region for learning from each other's
experiences. A multi-country follow up project to the SILAQ initiative would
enable participating countries to:
a) carry out joint activities, facilitating and shortening the transition period;
b) support the implementation of investment projects;
c) share experiences and information which can help to reduce the implementation costs;
d) initiate programs that address the main obstacles;
e) provide technical assistance to countries which are less advanced in these processes;
f) facilitate feasibility studies for investment projects;
g) organize workshops related to the problems associated with the improvement of ambient air quality and possible ways of facilitating the process. - To maintain the momentum gained during the three years of SILAQ work,
a continuation of external support is essential. The continued assistance
is of principal importance to those CEE countries where economic transition
is still slow and hard, and where the implementation processes will face
problems. To that end, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Danish
Environmental Protection Agency, the World Bank and the Regional Environmental
Center as well as the European Commission and the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development will be invited to continue their support.
- Under the aegis of the SILAQ Working Group, and with the work coordination
provided by the Regional Environmental Center, small joint-expert teams
could be established to facilitate the exchange of experiences and the creation
of synergy among participating parties, and through this, to help accelerate
the processes.
- Exchanges of experience could focus on successful programs and case studies,
and would address the major constraints. For example, the experiences of
Slovakia in the rapid and relatively smooth phase out of leaded gasoline,
or the experience of Hungary where production of leaded gasoline will be
completely phased out by the year 2000, could be beneficial to other countries
less successful in their efforts.
- The SILAQ countries might also initiate country studies on how best to
address technical problems resulting from the characteristics of vehicle
fleets. Work could also focus on the implementation of effective emission
control systems and the periodic technical inspection of vehicles. In this
context, the experience of the countries successful in the phase out, as
well as input from such institutions as the DEPA, the USEPA, the World Bank,
and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development would be of great
value and importance.
- Such joint activities would hopefully facilitate the Task Force initiatives
to realize strategies for the phase out of lead, as recommended in the pan-European
Strategy to Phase out Lead in Petrol. The data collected to date by the
SILAQ Working Group serve as a particularly good base for the transfer of
experience to those countries where less progress has been made in introducing
lead phase out policies.
- The follow up to the Sofia Initiatives for Local Air Quality, organized
as a multi-country regional cooperation project open to new participants
would not only accelerate the phase out of lead and reduction of sulphur
oxides and particulate emissions but also contribute to the European integration
process.
- The programme should also open up and broaden to encompass new areas such as reduction of emissions of nitrogen oxides and green house gases. It should lay emphasis on sharing experiences in capacity building and working out national programmes based on community models; on collecting, processing and disseminating available information in these areas; on working with the local authorities and NGOs, on assisting local authorities and NGOs in working together.
20-21 May 1998
Sofia
