User:Mhogan17/acidrain

International Treaties
International treaties on the long-range transport of atmospheric pollutants have been agreed upon by Western Countries for some time now. Beginning in 1979, European countries convened in order to ratify general principles discussed during the UNECE Convention. The purpose is to combat Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution. The 1985 Helsinki Protocol on the Reduction of Sulphur Emissions under the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution furthered the results of the convention. Results of the treaty have already come to fruition, as evident by an approximate 40 percent drop in particulate matter in North America. The effectiveness of the Convention in combatting acid rain has inspired further acts of international commitment to prevent the proliferation of particulate matter. Canada and the US signed the Air Quality Agreement in 1991. Most European countries and Canada have signed the treaties. Activity of the Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution Convention has remained dormant since 1999, when 27 countries convened to further reduce the effects of acid rain. In 2000, foreign cooperation to prevent acid rain was sparked in Asia for the first time. Ten diplomats from countries ranging throughout the continent convened to discuss way to prevent acid rain. As Asia emerges as the center of industrialization, greater cooperation among the countries will be required to reduce particulate emission that create acid rain.