By Gustavo Capdevila
GENEVA, Aug 23 1996 (IPS)

The elimination of ozone destroying substances made great progress in the industrialised nations and will now be extended over the developing world, with financing for this to be discussed here next week.

Officials and experts from around 100 countries will begin a four-day discussion Monday on the Multilateral Fund for the application of the Montreal Protocol – an agreement to reduce the use of these substances signed in 1987.

The emissions of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons have reduced since the Protocol came into operation on Jan. 1, 1989, said Elizabeth Dowdeswell, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Dowdeswell warned, however, that the good results obtained so far could be reversed if the developing countries do not also adopt the technologies which do not damage the ozone layer.

A document from the technical and economic evaluation group determined 436.5 million dollars will be needed for the developing countries to apply the control measures foreseen in the Protocol between 1997 and 1999.

A supplementary sum of between 40 and 60 million dollars will also be needed to sustain the impulse acquired by the most advanced developing nations in the application of controls.

The breakdown of the ozone layer is exceptional amongst environmental problems, as both the causes and the solutions have been identified, and a schedule was established for the improvements to be brought in with the richer countries covering the costs for the poorer ones.

Resources from the Multilateral Fund aimed at the developing countries totalled 240 million dollars in the 1991-1993 period, and increased to 455 millions in 1994-1996.

The contributions donated in the 1991-1995 period were worth 480 million dollars, a figure well under the agreed a amount of 536 million.

Most of the overdue payments were from the nations in economic transition, with some 47.4 million dollars owed by Russia, 10 million by the Ukraine, 2.8 by Belarus and 2.3 by Poland.

The decision-making process will take place next week, in the 13th meeting of the Open Working Group on the Montreal Protocol, which must also produce recommendations on necessary exceptions.

The meeting will also decide on the regulations for trade of methyl bromide, on the illegal trade of regulated substances and on issues of the application of the protocol.

The results of these deliberations will be presented to the eighth meeting of Protocoal members, which will be held alongside the the fourth meeting of the parties of the Vienna Conference, on Nov. 19 to 27 in San Jose, Costa Rica.

“The ozone layer will begin to recover quickly if we can reach the aims of controlling methyl bromide and the hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) in the industrialised countries and eliminate the ozone eroding factors in others,” said K. Sarma, from the ozone secretariat.

In the Geneva meeting many exceptions for essential uses will be discussed for Canada, the United States, Japan, Poland, South Africa, Switzerland and the European Union.

These exceptions mainly refer to health products, like medical aerosols, for a volume of 13,000 tons in 1997 and around 11,000 tons in 1988. In 1986, the industrialised nations consumed a million tons of these products.

The meeting will examine regulations on the methyl bromide trade with nations which do not form part of the Protocol and also the other products which use this chemical currently not up for elimination.

The options proposed include modifying criteria already in place on the essential uses of methyl bromide, taking into account the way it conserves food – it is also used in the fumigation of some agricultural produce.

Other options include allowing the nations to use methyl bromide only in emergenies obtaining the exemption afterwards.

UNEP said that to date, the Montreal Protocol has correctly accomplished its mission, as has been shown by the elimination of the consumption of many ozone damaging substances in the industrialised nations.

The Multilateral Fund also successfully assured the sum of 500 million dollars for financing projects which aim to eliminate around a third of the consumption of ozone damaging substances in the developing nations.

Excerpt: