The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
UNECE and the environment
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), which was set up in 1947, is one of the five regional commissions of the UN. It promotes economic cooperation among its 56 member states in a range of sectors, by means of policy advice and assistance to governments. UNECE is also a forum for negotiation of norms, standards and international agreements on topics of common interest to its member states, including trade and transport, environmental protection and energy. With respect to its environmental strategy, UNECE's global activity aims to reduce pollution in the ECE region (see map) and avoid or minimise environmental damage. To this end, its environmental strategy focuses upon 4 areas: the work of the Committee on Environmental Policy; its participation in specific processes (such as of the 'Environment for Europe' ministerial process); its environmental performance review; and the negotiation of environmental treaties.
What are the relevant laws?
Since 1979, a wide range of conventions, protocols and legally binding instruments concerning the protection of the environment have been adopted by the UNECE. None of them specifically addresses carbon sequestration activities, but one of them in particular might have an impact upon the legal requirements for CCS development, including the transport of CO2, in the territory of UNECE member states. This is the 1991 Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo Convention) and its 2003 Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment (Kiev Protocol).
Two other UNECE conventions could conceivably come into play once CCS is widely deployed - The Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes and the Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents (both 1992) together with the Protocol on Civil Liability (2003) which unites them - but the impact of these would be less directly concerned with transport.
What is their collective effect on CCS activities?
The Espoo Convention was not drafted with CCS in mind, so does not contain specific provisions concerning transport of CO2, either by pipeline or by ship.
However, its regulatory scope could have an impact upon the conditions to be fulfilled in order to allow CCS activities in the UNECE region. Transport is the phase most likely to be affected by this, especially in terms of planning and permitting requirements, as well as EIA in the process of routing pipelines. Consideration of the Espoo Convention and, potentially, of the Kiev Protocol is therefore necessary.
Furthermore, this Convention already applies to pipeline infrastructures transporting oil, gas and other chemicals, leaving room for a possible extension of scope in the future to cover CO2 pipelines as well.