The objectives of the original Gothenburg Protocol were to control and reduce emissions of SO₂, NOx, NMVOC and NH3. National emission ceilings are set on the basis of knowledge of critical loads and environmental impacts on ecosystems in the geographical area of Europe. The national ceilings of the original Gothenburg Protocol for our country are defined in the Regulation on the quantities of upper limits-ceilings of emission of pollutants in order to determine projections for a certain period of time relating to the reduction of the quantities of emissions of pollutants on an annual basis and are given in the following table.
The 2012 amendments to the Gothenburg Protocol specify national emission reduction commitments compared to the base year 2005 for the following pollutants: sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen oxides (NOx), ammonia (NH3), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) and particulate matter (PM2.5) with targets for 2020 and beyond. The national reduction commitments are also an obligation under the National Ceilings Directive 2016/2284/EC (Preliminary NRCs using the GAINS model were calculated within the framework of the EU 4 Green project for the Western Balkan countries, taking into account the transboundary pollution between these countries.
The national NRCs will be calculated within the framework of the ongoing IPA II air project “Support to the implementation of the air quality directives”, by the end of this year.
