Acidifying emissions in The Netherlands

The emission of acidifying compounds to air in the Netherlands, expressed as acidifying equivalents, consisted in 1992 mainly of NO_X (45%), NH₃ (35%) and SO₂ (20%). Transportation, agriculture and large combustion plants each contributed about 30% to the national total emission of acidifying compounds. The emissions from transportation activities mainly consisted of NO_X, while in agriculture NH₃ emission strongly dominated. Combustion processes in large combustion plants resulted both in SO₂ emissions (especially from refineries) and NO_X emissions (especially from public power plants). The total emission of acidifying substances decreases steadily in the Netherlands. The emission in 1992 was 24% lower than in 1985. It is expected to decrease further in future. The emission levels in 1992 and 1993 still are more than twice as high as the emission objective for the year 2000, set by Dutch environmental policy.