The Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR)

The Kyiv Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer is a legally binding international instrument on pollutant release and transfer registers (PRTR). The Protocol aims “to enhance public access to information through the establishment of coherent, nationwide pollutant release and transfer registers (PRTRs)” A PRTR is an inventory of emissions from industrial sites to air, water and soil, which may be hazardous. The PRTR is an important tool for environmental policy which encourages industries and facilities to reduce their impact on the environment, whilst maintaining transparency with the public.

The PRTR Protocol to the Aarhus Convention entered into force, thus binding its Parties, on 8 October 2009. The European Union (EU) is one of the Parties to this protocol, and as a result published Council Regulation EC 166/2006 concerning the establishment of a European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register and amending Council Directives 91/689/EEC and 96/61/EC on 18 January 2006.

Malta became a Party to the Kyiv Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer on the 20th May 2016, however prior to this date, the provisions of the Protocol applied indirectly to Malta through its membership in the EU. In fact, Malta was already compliant with the requirements of the EU E-PRTR Regulations (EC 166/2006), which, as stated above, implements the PRTR Protocol, when it became a party to the Protocol.

Pursuant to Article 17 of the Protocol on PRTRs, Parties continuously review the implementation of the Protocol on a regular basis through national reports. To further promote the exchange of knowledge and experience, the national implementation reports prepared by the Parties for each reporting cycle are made accessible through the search engine on the UNECE PRTR website

National data is reported to the European Commission via the European Environment Agency on a yearly basis and these are then subsequently uploaded on the E-PRTR website. Please click on the following link, should you wish to view any of the data reported by Malta in the previous years.