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Hands-on training on calculating emissions from road transport to facilitate sound policy solutions in the Eastern part of the UNECE region

Hands-on training on calculating emissions from road transport to facilitate sound policy solutions in the Eastern part of the UNECE region

air pollution

Transport continues to be a significant source of air pollution, especially in cities in the UNECE region. Air pollutants, such as particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), harm human health and the environment. Although air pollution from transport has decreased in the last decade because of the introduction of fuel quality standards, the Euro vehicle emission standards and the use of cleaner technologies, too many people are still exposed to concentrations of air pollution that exceed the guideline level set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

In order for policymakers to be able to act on transport-related air pollution and devise tailor-made policy solutions for a country, precise and complete data on transport emissions are needed.

Under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (Air Convention), UNECE has been assisting countries in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) to improve their emission inventory data with a view to facilitating their ratification and implementation of the Air Convention and its key protocols. Experts from Türkiye, EECCA and Western Balkan countries participated in a hands-on training workshop (14-15 June, Istanbul), to improve their understanding of advanced methods to calculate emissions from the road transport sector. Specifically, participants learned about the so-called COPERT (Computer Programme to calculate Emissions from Road Transport​) model, the most advanced method to calculate emissions, using data on vehicle population, mileage, speed and ambient temperature, among others. The use of the COPERT software tool allows for a transparent and standardized, hence consistent and comparable data collecting and emissions reporting procedure, in accordance with the requirements under the Air Convention.

This training followed up on an online workshop held in 2021. Through practical exercises with country data, this week’s training intended to enhance capacities of experts to develop high quality and accurate road transport emission inventories, which are part of the national reporting of emissions under the Air Convention and serve to improve the scientific basis for policymaking. 

For more information on capacity-building under the UNECE Air Convention, please visit: http://www.unece.org/environmental-policy/conventions/envlrtapwelcome/capacity-building.html