Canadian NOx/VOC Science Assessment: science and policy linkages

The Canadian multistakeholder NOx/VOC science program was initiated in 1992 explicitly to respond to the needs of the policy community for defensible, high-quality scientific guidance upon which to design and implement emissions reduction strategies to manage the ground-level ozone problem in Canada. The primary product of the science program to date is the eight volume Canadian NOx/VOC Science Assessment, the first comprehensive review of the science of ground-level ozone completed for Canada. The science reports in the assessment series cover ambient air monitoring and analysis of the data collected from the monitoring networks; health and vegetation effects of ozone; mathematical modelling for emission control scenarios in the three regions most impacted by ground-level ozone in Canada; and, emissions inventories for ozone precursors. In addition to the science reports, the Summary for Policy Makers synthesizes the key scientific findings and presents a set of recommendations to the policy community, recognizing there are limitations to their use in policy decision-making. This paper describes the management process used to deliver the assessment, the key findings of the science and how the science-based recommendations are being used for ground-level ozone policy development.