SECRETARÍA DE ESTADO DE MEDIO AMBIENTE MINISTERIO DE AGRICULTURA, ALIMENTACIÓN Y MEDIO AMBIENTE DIRECCION GENERAL DE CALIDAD Y EVALUACION AMBIENTAL Y MEDIO NATURAL Mr. Marco Keiner Director Environment Division Economie Commission for Europe Palais es Nations, Room CH.2111 GENEVE 10 28 February 2013 Dear Mr. Keiner, Thank you so much for your letter of December the 4th. Spain remains committed to its obligations under the Gothenburg Protocol, was ratified in April 2005, and the Directive 2001/81/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2001 on national emission ceilings for certain atmospheric pollutants. As you are aware Spain inventory is based on the latest and best understanding of emission inventory methodology. As you state in your letter based on the latest submission ammonia (NH3) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) Spain indicate an excess of approximately 4% of each (NH3 and NOx). Spain recently updated 2010 emission inventories as part of the internal reporting under European Union legislations and Gothenburg Protocol. It is now indicating slightly different figures. For ammonia emissions the present inventory is supposedly overestimated, as reduction control techniques have not been implemented to estimate emissions in manure application. For nitrogen oxides emissions ceiling the Gothenburg Protocol is not fully comparable in its estimating algorithm (discrepancies in the road transport sector). According with that, Spain proposes to the Secretariat of CLRTAP to be allowed the possibility to present a new estimate of emissions as additional information en which to assess the potential issue of non compliance with the 2010 ceiling of ammonia and nitrogen oxides of the Gothenburg Protocol. Spain will present the report before 4th of June 2013. Please, take note of the attached document “Spain response on aspects to be considered to assess the compliance issue on NH3 and NOx under the Gothenburg Protocol” Yours sincerely. Maj-Britt Larka Abellán Subdirectora General de Calidad del Aire y Medio Ambiente Industrial CORREO Buzon: [email protected] PLAZA SAN JUAN DE LA CRUZ, s/n 28071 - MADRID