Canada · United States
Air Quality Agreement - Progress Report 2006

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Introduction

The 2006 Progress Report, prepared by the bilateral Air Quality Committee, is the eighth biennial report compiled under the 1991 Canada-United States Air Quality Agreement. This report highlights actions undertaken by Canada and the United States in the last two years to address transboundary air pollution within the context of the Agreement-namely, acid rain and ground-level ozone.

Over the last two years, Canada and the United States have continued to successfully reduce their emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x), the major contributors to acid rain. Both countries have also made considerable progress in meeting the requirements of the Ozone Annex to reduce emissions of NO_x and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the precursors to ground-level ozone. Canada and the United States have focused their actions on reducing these emissions from major sources such as electric generating units, industrial sources, and on-road and nonroad transportation. Each country's progress in achieving the requirements of the Acid Rain Annex and the Ozone Annex is summarized in Section 1 of the report.

The 2006 Progress Report includes the third five-year comprehensive review of the Air Quality Agreement, which has been organized in a question and answer format to better address requirements in the Agreement and public comments on the 2004 Progress Report submitted by the International Joint Commission. The review responds to several deferred issues from previous reviews in 1996 and 2002, highlights progress on several topics, and outlines future areas of potential focus.

In 2006, the Air Quality Agreement marked its 15-year anniversary. This Agreement has provided important opportunities for collaboration between Canada and the United States and has produced impressive results, not just in environmental improvements, but also in diplomacy and working relationships. Both countries rely on the Agreement as the mechanism to address air pollution issues and are committed to its continuing viability and relevance as new bilateral issues emerge. The Agreement's flexibility provides opportunities to go beyond the challenges identified by the Acid Rain and Ozone annexes, and the Parties look forward to considering whether and how to address bilateral issues associated with particulate matter, mercury, and other air pollutants.