§ Dr. David Clarkasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will report on the work undertaken with the UNECE Geneva convention on long-range trans-boundary air pollution by the group of experts on cost and benefit analysis into an economic assessment of the acid deposition problem in the United Kingdom; and if he will provide details of conclusions which the group has reached.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe executive body for the UNECE convention on long range transboundary air pollution has given the group of experts on cost and benefit analysis a wide-ranging remit to develop and apply appropriate economic methodologies to the evaluation of alternative abatement scenarios, for the ECE region as a whole and not specifically the United Kingdom. The group has had two formal sessions and has not yet reached conclusions, but these will be made available in due course.
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§ Dr. David Clarkasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the emission scenarios for sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and other pollutants which are being used for cost-benefit analysis of the acid deposition problem in the United Kingdom within the context of the UNECE Geneva convention on long-range transboundary air pollution.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe executive body for the convention on long range transboundary air pollution adopted the following sulphur dioxide emission scenarios for the ECE region as a whole at its second session in September 1984, taking 1980 emissions as the base level:
Scenario 1 No additional sulphur control measures to (a) 1995 and (b) 2010. Scenario 2 Maintain base level emissions to (a) 1995 and (b) 2010. Scenarios 3 in 4 and 5 10, 30 and 50 per cent. respectively, reductions base level emissions by (a) 1995 and (b) 2010. No emission scenarios have yet been adopted by the executive body for nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons or other pollutants.
§ Dr. David Clarkasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in full in the Official Report the text of the United Kingdom's sulphur dioxide abatement programme as provided to the group of experts on cost and benefit analysis within the UNECE Geneva convention on long-range transboundary air pollution.
§ Mr. WaldegraveNo such programme has been provided to the group of experts on cost and benefit analysis. Research work being undertaken for my Department on the development of economic evaluation models in the context of United Kingdom domestic policy have been used as a substantial input to the work of the group. It is intended to make the results of this research available in due course.