IJC Reports Progress Made, More Work to be Done
The International Joint Commission has released two reports dealing with transboundary air quality: Synthesis of Public Comment on the 2006 Progress Report under the Canada-United States Air Quality Agreement and Second Summary of Critical Air Quality Issues in the Transboundary Region.
The former was produced by the Commission pursuant to its responsibilities under Article IX of the Canada-U.S. Air Quality Agreement and the latter was developed by the Commission's International Air Quality Advisory Board.
In providing comments on the 2006 Air Progress Report, nearly all respondents expressed strong support for the Air Quality Agreement and its success in fostering binational cooperation on pollution control, monitoring, research, and information exchange.
Overall, respondents were satisfied that substantial progress has been made by both countries relative to reductions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds. Nevertheless, most agreed that more needs to be accomplished to mitigate transboundary air pollution and several advocated that more attention be paid to developments in western parts of the continent.
The Second Summary of Critical Air Quality Issues recognizes the considerable progress made by the two countries on issues identified in the first report. It also offers recommendations on six key areas of transboundary air quality.