In what would be the first major effort to confront transboundary air pollution since an agreement on acid rain pollution in the 1980s, the U.S. and Canada have drafted a smog-reduction plan for the next decade. Under it, the U.S. would reduce its nitrogen oxide emissions by 36 percent by 2010, while Canada would drop its emissions by 44 percent. Both sides are also pledging to take aim at volatile organic compounds, another contributor to ground-level ozone pollution. And Canada would bring its standards for vehicle emissions in line with those in the U.S. The draft agreement drew criticism from Dan Newman, the environment minister of Ontario, who said his country’s negotiators “sold Canada out” by going light on the U.S.
