Improving Emission Inventories for Effective Air-Quality Management Across North America

The NARSTO Ozone and Particulate Matter Assessments emphasized that emission inventories are critical to the success of air quality management programs and that emissions inventories in Canada, Mexico, and the United States need improvement to meet expectations for quality, timeliness, and cost effectiveness. Accordingly, NARSTO sponsored a workshop to address new and innovative methods for emission inventory development and evaluation. Findings and recommendations from the workshop led NARSTO to undertake an assessment of the emission inventory programs across North America. The assessment identifies emission inventory programs needed for the 21st century, recognizes the capabilities and limitations of current programs, and recommends enhancements needed to move the programs forward. Preliminary findings and recommendations will be presented. The authors of this poster are CoChairs of the NARSTO committee that oversaw preparation of the Emissions Inventory Assessment report.