NEPAP

Coordinator: Prof. Peringe Grennfelt, Swedish Environmental Research Institute (IVL), Sweden

Title: Network for the support of European Policies on Air Pollution

Aim: NEPAP aims to establish a new method of interaction between science and policy within the EU.

www: http://nepap.ivl.se/

Project summary

1. Problem to be solved

Over the last 30 years, the Community's policy on the environment has resulted in a stream of effective policies and measures aimed at reducing emissions and concentrations of contaminants. Despite the many achievements there is evidence that particulate matter and ground-level ozone may be affecting the health of thousands of people every year and provoking premature deaths. Continued efforts and vigilance are still needed to keep the trend going in the right direction, as, for example, is the case for acidification.

In addition it is clear that air pollution problems, traditionally managed as local or regional problems, such as tropospheric ozone and fine particles, are linked to phenomena at the hemispheric and global scales. We need to improve the scientific understanding of the long-term fate of emissions and the impact of emissions on hemispheric background concentrations of sulphur, nitrogen, VOC, ozone and particulate matter, focusing in particular on the chemistry of the free troposphere and the potential for intercontinental flow of pollutants (The 1999 Gothenburg Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone).

Experiences from earlier work on international air quality policies have demonstrated the importance of a close involvement of science in the development and evaluation of air quality strategies. The present lack of simple communication pathways between CAFE and the scientific community within the area of atmospheric transport and ecological effects is the basis for the project. With NEPAP we will strengthen the scientific support of CAFE and other air quality policies in Europe.

2. Scientific objectives and approach

The objective of NEPAP is to fill some of the gaps in the CAFE process and support CAFE with scientific assessments and deeper analyses of some crucial issues. The work will focus on a few issues, which have been identified as particular relevant. These include the importance of sources outside Europe, non-linearities, and uncertainties in source-receptor relationships. NEPAP aims to work in close collaboration with both DG Research and CAFE and through a number of small workshops evaluate the most recent findings in relation to the needs and outcome of CAFE.

The NEPAP project will be divided into six workpackages, five of these will be covering well-defined topics crucial for the CAFE programme. The sixth workpackage will be directed towards synthesis of issues, communication with the Commission and programme co-ordination.

3. Expected impacts

NEPAP will establish a new method of interaction between science and policy within the EU. New methodologies for evaluations and assessments of scientific results and their use in integrated assessment modelling will be developed and applied.

The project will provide assessment reports tailored for CAFE and other policy-oriented needs on results from EU funded projects and other European research projects and programmes within the field of air pollution. The assessment reports will be based on collaborative work between the most experienced experts within an area and be open for discussions in workshops etc. Areas that need further scientific research will be identified. A network of experts for the support of the development, communication and implementation of EU strategies and directives will be consolidated and developed further. Broad policy-driven scientific workshops, relevant to the CAFE programme, will be organised.