Environmental benefits of NOx control in northwestern Europe

Five environmental problems have been identified, which should see signific ant improvement in the United Kingdom, if action is taken within the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN ECE) Second NOx Protocol to con trol NOx emissions, These problems are: acidification and eutrophication of soil ecosystems; episodic peak ozone and human health; ozone damage to cro ps and forest trees; wintertime NOx pollution episodes and summertime fine particulate formation and human health, There are a range of environmental and health thresholds that can be used as a guide to setting NOx emission r eduction targets for these problems within the proposed Second NOx Protocol , It is recognized, however, that achieving some of these targets will requ ire actions beyond those regarded as feasible even if their desirability is acknowledged. These targets can at least provide bench marks against which agreed reductions can be assessed, within the context of a multi-pollutant multi-effect framework to the proposed Second NOx Protocol.