industry and environment - DTIE

Chemicals management
The Parties recognized that dissemination of
alternative technologies would be the key to the
Protocol’s successful implementation. Therefore,
they provided for the transfer of such technologies
to developing countries and the
strengthening of these countries’ capacities to
adopt them.
The Financial Mechanism was agreed in
1990. The Multilateral Fund (part of the
Financial Mechanism) was created in 1991. It
is managed by an Executive Committee of 14
Parties, seven each from industrialized and
developing countries, appointed annually by
the Meetings of the Parties. The Fund Secretariat
in Montreal assists the Executive Committee.
The implementing agencies for the
Fund’s programmes in developing countries are
UNEP, the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), the United Nations Industrial
Development Organization (UNIDO)
and the World Bank. 8
What has been achieved so far: global
participation
The Montreal Protocol’s first and most significant
achievement has been the level of global
participation (Figure 1). There are now 187
Parties to the Convention, representing nearly
all of humanity. 9
Progress in phasing out ODS
Industry has provided alternative substances
and technologies for almost all ODS uses. To
meet the provisions of the Protocol, industrialized
countries have phased out consumption of a million
tonnes of CFCs since 1986 (Figure 2). They
now consume about 11,000 tonnes for essential
uses approved by the Meetings of the Parties. Most
of these uses are in medical aerosols for which alternatives
are not yet unavailable.
The abundance of CFCs and other ODS in the
atmosphere has been measured regularly since
about 1978. Annual growth in abundance has
increased over much of this period, but data show
that in recent years increases are slowing for many
ODS and that the abundance of some ODS is
actually decreasing. These measurements
clearly indicate the
Protocol’s success.
Progress in developing
countries
The Multilateral Fund has
financed nearly 5000 projects
in 134 developing countries
over the past 13 years, at a cost
of approximately US$ 1.7 billion.
Projects include a wide
range of technology transfer
activities involving investment
projects that focus on refrigeration,
aerosols, fire extinguishing,
metal cleaning, foams and
other uses. Projects approved
through 2002 have resulted in
the elimination of over
180,000 tonnes of ODS in
24 ◆ UNEP Industry and Environment April – September 2004
Table 1
Some regional and global agreements
concerned with chemical management before
the Montreal Protocol
◆ Convention 13 of ILO: Use of White Lead in Painting (1921)
◆ European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of
Dangerous Goods by Road (1957)
◆ Convention 136 ILO: Protection against Benzene (1971)
◆ Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (1973)
◆ Convention 139 of ILO: Prevention and Control of Occupational
Hazards by Carcinogenic Substances (1976)
◆ Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine
Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (1976)
◆ Kuwait Regional Convention on the Protection of the Marine
Environment from Pollution (1978)
◆ Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (1979)
and related Protocols
◆ Convention for Cooperation in the Protection and Developments
of the Marine and Coastal Environment of West and Central Africa
(1981)
◆ Lima Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and
Coastal Area of the South-East Pacific (1981)
◆ Regional Convention for the Conservation of the Red Sea and Gulf
of Aden (1982)
◆ Protocol on Long-term Financing of the Cooperative Programmes
for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Long-Range Transmission of Air
Pollutants in Europe (1984)
◆ Convention for Protection, Management and Development of the
Marine and Coastal Environment of the Eastern Pacific Region (1985)
◆ Protocol on the Reduction of Sulphur Emissions or their
Transboundary Fluxes by at least 30% (1985)
◆ Noumea Convention for the Protection of the Natural Resources
and Environment of the South Pacific Region (1986)
developing countries (Figure 3).
The Multilateral Fund is one of the best-subscribed
funds within the United Nations. More
than 85% of contributions are made on time.
Countries in arrears are mainly from the former
Soviet Union. Developed countries have pledged
US$ 474 million for the 2003-2005 triennium.
Assistance has been approved for the phase-out
of CFCs production in India, and of CFCs and
halons production in China.
Emerging issues
Although the Montreal Protocol can be seen to
Table 2
ODS uses
Refrigerant Fire ex- Solvent
tinguishing
Foam
blowing
serve as a pilot for other international conventions,
full-scale success has not yet been
achieved. Several emerging issues still need to
be addressed:
◆ Developing countries are now the greatest
ODS producers and consumers. Their commitment
and participation are essential;
◆ Illegal trade in CFCs is proliferating in
Europe and the United States;
◆ There are still loopholes and omissions in the
Protocol concerning:
• methyl bromide quarantine and pre-shipment
exemption;
• lack of control measures regarding the phaseout
of production of hydrochlorofluorocarbons
(HCFCs);
• slow progress on alternatives to metered dose
inhalers (MDIs);
• lax interpretation of controls on process
agents;
• lack of a mechanism to implement the recommendations
of the HFC/PFC task force of
TEAP; 10
◆ Linkages between international conventions
(e.g. the Montreal and Kyoto Protocols) are
reappearing as a key focal element. Today linkages
may seem to be an academic issue, and
impacts such as those of HFCs and PFCs may
appear insignificant. Yet these linkages may
prove important to ultimate success. 11
Lessons for strategic management of
chemicals
There are a number of signs that the Montreal
Protocol is achieving its objectives. Ratification is
now nearly universal. More than a million tonnes
of CFCs per year and another million tonnes of
carbon tetrachloride (CTC) and methyl chloroform
have been phased out by industrialized
countries. Developing countries are half-way
through phasing out these substances, well on target
according to the terms of the Protocol.
Chlorine loading in the stratosphere – the cause
of ozone layer depletion – is slowing. Scientists
predict that the ozone layer could fully recover by
the middle of this century if other factors such as
climate change do not affect this
recovery. Cooperation between
industrialized and developing
Process
agent and Pesticide Aerosol
feedstock
CFC-11 ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
CFC-12 ✔ ✔ ✔
CFC-113 ✔ ✔
CFC-114 ✔ ✔
CFC-115 ✔ ✔
HCFC-22 ✔ ✔
HCFC-123
✔
HCFC-1416 ✔ ✔
HCFC-1426 ✔ ✔
Halon-1211 ✔ ✔
Halon-1301 ✔ ✔
Halon-2402
CTC ✔ ✔ ✔
Methyl chloroform ✔ ✔
✔
Methyl bromide ✔ ✔
countries has been extremely
effective. Industrialized countries
have been assisting developing
ones without interruption
during the past 12 years. More
than 100 different technologies
using ozone-friendly chemicals
have been transferred to developing
countries. Financial assistance
to these countries has been
over US$ 1.7 billion.
Nevertheless, the Protocol’s
success has not been without
frustrations, disappointments
and dilemmas. A number of
challenges continue to pose
questions to which there are no
easy answers.