A comparison between the cost curves in the RAINS-model and the Swedish environmental quality objectives

The Swedish Parliament has adopted fifteen environmental quality objectives. To be able to attain these goals in a cost-efficient way, cost curves have been created for sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX), and volatile organic compounds (VOC). These pollutants are also restricted in international protocols under the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP). Most of the analyses underlying the protocols have been performed by the Regional Acidification Information and Simulation model (RAINS) developed at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria. This study compare the cost-effectiveness principles used in the RAINS model with the principles used in the proposal to meet the Swedish environmental quality objectives. The two approaches use different methodologies to solve the problem with air pollution and do therefore receive different results. The advantages and disadvantages are discussed in this report