Funding for eliminating CFCs

The world's governments met in Beijing to agree on further funding for eliminating CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) and other ozone-destroying chemicals. The 172 member countries of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer will decide on a three-year replenishment of the Multilateral Fund.

The Fund makes it possible for developing countries to meet their treaty commitments, including the phase-out of CFCs and halons by the year 2010. "The partnership between developed and developing countries that has been realized through the Multilateral Fund is one of the great success stories of global environmental protection," said Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, which administers the Protocol secretariat. "The billion dollars already spent by the Fund on returning the stratospheric ozone layer to health has been an incredible bargain. I urge governments to continue investing in ozone protection as long as it takes for this natural shield against harmful radiation to be completely revived," he said.

Under the Protocol, developing countries are to freeze their CFC and halon emissions at average 1995-97 levels during the 12-month period that began on 1 July 1999. They must then cut back rapidly to 50 per cent by the year 2005. Developed countries phased out the use of these chemicals almost completely in 1996, although Russia and several others have experienced delays in meeting their deadlines. This leaves China, the meeting's host country, as the world's largest producer and consumer of CFCs and halons.

The Multilateral Fund was established in 1991 to help developing countries adopt ozone-friendly chemicals and processes. Its Executive Committee (which has equal representation from developed and developing countries) has thus far approved some $940 million for projects to phase out the consumption of 122,000 tonnes, and the production of 42,000 tonnes, of CFCs and halons in 117 developing countries. This includes funding to help China close down its production facilities for these chemicals over the next 10 years. The Fund's Executive Committee should soon finalize a funding programme for closing down the CFC production facilities in India, which has the second largest production capacity in the developing world.

In Beijing, the funding discussions will be based on the results of last June's Working Group meeting. The Group reviewed a study by UNEP's Technology and Economic Assessment Panel which calculated that the minimum funding for 2000-2 could be set at US$ 306 million. However, it recommended that another $200 million in advance funding be added in order to keep up the phase-out momentum achieved so far and to gain various environmental, administrative, and business advantages.

Other key items on the Beijing agenda include proposals by the European Community to adjust (by tightening existing phase-out schedules) and amend (by adding new controls) the Protocol. The proposal regarding HCFCs (a leading replacement for CFCs) calls for introducing new production and trade controls, tightening the phase-out schedule, and reducing the "cap" on consumption. The proposal is based on concern that, while much less destructive than CFCs, HCFCs do contribute to ozone depletion, and other alternatives are now available on the market.

The proposal on Methyl Bromide calls for limiting the quantities that can be used under the agreed quarantine and pre-shipment exemptions and for introducing trade controls. Another proposal would require developed countries to gradually reduce their production of CFCs destined for meeting the needs of developing countries, as currently permitted, to reflect the reduction of CFC consumption in those countries. Still another proposal would permit any newly invented ozone-depleting substances to be controlled through an adjustment rather than the more cumbersome procedure of an amendment.

The Beijing conference incorporates both the Fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP5) to the 1985 Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (the framework agreement under which the Protocol was negotiated) and the Eleventh Meeting of the Parties (MOP11) to the 1987 Montreal Protocol. A preparatory segment for both the COP and the MOP will be held from 29 November to 1 December, followed by a 2- 3 December high-level segment, also for the two combined. The Convention and Protocol meetings will be preceded from 24-26 November by the 29th Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund.

Under the 1987 Montreal Protocol, governments have agreed to phase out chemicals that destroy stratospheric ozone, which is essential for shielding humans, plants, and animals from the damaging effects of ultraviolet light. Recent years have seen record thinning of the ozone layer, including an ever- large ozone "hole" over Antarctica. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the hole exceeded 22 million square kilometres during the September 1999 Antarctic spring. Scientists predict that the ozone layer will start to recover in the near future and will fully recover some time in the 21st century - but only if the Protocol continues to be vigorously enforced.