Montreal Protocol

The Montreal Protocol's full name "Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer" is the United Nations' 1985 continuation of 1985 to avoid the deterioration and damage of the Earth's ozone layer in industrial products. The General Principles of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, on September 16th, 1987, invited the 26 Member States to the Environmental Protection Convention signed in Montreal, Canada. The Convention entered into force on January 1st, 1989.

The Montreal Convention imposes strict regulations on the production of CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113, CFC-114, CFC-115 and other chlorofluorocarbons and three halons, and stipulates that all countries have joint efforts. The obligation to protect the ozone layer, all activities that have adverse effects on the ozone layer, should adopt appropriate control measures, such as electronic optical cleaning agents, air-conditioners, foaming agents, sprays, fire extinguishers, etc. In addition, the Convention also decided to set up a multilateral trust fund to assist developing countries in technology transfer. Although the Protocol stipulates that the production of CFCs will be frozen in 1986, and requires developed countries to reduce manufacturing by 50% in 1988, while haling production has been banned since 1994. However, in the spring of 1988, NASA published the “Global Ozone Trend Report”, which stated that the global destruction of the ozone layer does not only end over the Antarctic and the Arctic, but also indirectly confirms the Montreal Convention's control of CFCs is still insufficient.

1.Signing history

Two months after the signing of the Vienna Convention, the British Antarctic Expedition Captain J. Farman announced that since the observation of the Antarctic in 1977, the "Ozone Hole" was discovered every year from September to November. This discovery has shocked the world. In September 1985, UNEP organized a symposium to develop a protocol for substantive control measures. In October of the same year, it was decided to establish a working group on the protection of the ozone layer to work on the development of the protocol.

In September 1987, the TP Plenipotentiary Conference on the Protection of the Ozone Layer Protocol organized by UNEP was held in Montreal, Canada. The meeting was attended by 140 representatives and observers from 36 countries and 10 international organizations. The Chinese government also sent representatives to the meeting. The Protocol stipulates that the production of CFCs will be frozen in 1986 and that it will reduce manufacturing by 50% in industrial countries by 1988 and freeze the production of halons.

On September 16th, the same year, 24 countries signed the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (hereinafter referred to as the Protocol). The Chinese government believes that this Protocol does not reflect the fact that developed countries are the main responsible for the depletion of the ozone layer caused by the emission of CFCs. The requirements imposed on developing countries are unfair, so the protocol was not signed at that time.
Since the need to protect the development of the ozone layer and the failure of the Protocol to fully reflect the views of developing countries, after the first meeting of the Helsinki Parties in May 1989, representatives of 80 countries gathered in Helsinki and began the amendment to the Protocol, which agreed to gradually replace the chemicals listed in the Montreal Protocol as soon as possible, but not later than in 2000.

2.Country situation

Sweden was the first country to expedite a timetable for scrapping the use of CFCs.In June 1988, the Swedish parliament passed legislation banning CFCs in 1995.After extensive discussions with industry, the Swedish government has set a timetable for the phasing out of refrigerated disinfectants and the continued use of CFCs sprays until 1988, with a packaging life of 1989;The service life of solvent and foam is 1991, and the maximum service life of hard foam, dry cleaning and coolant is 1994.Sweden uses only about 1% of the world's CFCs, so other countries, especially those that use them heavily, need to learn from Sweden.

In June 1990, the 2nd meeting of the Parties in London adopted amendments to the Protocol. Since the amendments basically reflect the will of developing countries, many developing countries, including India, have indicated that they will join the amended Protocol. At the meeting, the Chinese delegation also indicated that it would recommend that the government join the amended Protocol as soon as possible.

On June 14th, 1991, the Chinese Government Mission to the United Nations handed over the revised Protocol to the UN Secretary-General. At the 3rd meeting of the Parties, the Chinese government delegation announced the decision of the Chinese government to formally join the amended Protocol.

The Protocol states in the foreword that emissions from the production and use of ODS have a direct impact on the destruction of the ozone layer and thus have a significant negative impact on human health and the environment. Based on the principle of prevention and prudence, the international community should take action to phase out these substances and strengthen research and development of alternatives. In particular, it is pointed out that the relevant control measures must take into account the special circumstances of developing countries, especially their financial and technological needs. The preface also emphasizes that any measure should be based on science and research results, and consider relevant economic and technological factors.

3.Influence

Industry

● The main ozone depleting agent in the refrigerant, CFC-12, may be replaced by HFC-134a, but chemical engineers say that HFC-134a is more difficult to manufacture, more expensive than CFC-12, and more frequently replaced than CFC-12. For the CFC-11 used as a plastic foaming agent, the proposed replacement is HCFC-22. This compound has been used in household air conditioners, but it does not have the thermal insulation properties of CFC-11, so its future application. Will be subject to more restrictions.

● Regarding the cleaning of environmentally safe solvents for circuit boards, a new product that is superior to CFC-113 and other chlorine-containing solvents will be developed. The product, named BIOACT, contains something that can be extracted from natural plants such as citrus peels or trunks. Simply replacing the FC-113 with this new product requires additional procedures and equipment for cleaning the board.

● Alternatives to CFC-11, CFC-12 and CFC-113 still require long-term research and development, as many alternatives are industrially inferior to CFCs and less durable, and even have to be designed More devices to use. These alternatives are prone to decomposition at low pressure but are less threatening to the ozone layer, but human exposure to these alternatives can be potentially hazardous or cause other environmental problems, such as acid rain, so we must develop a completely safe Alternatives, not another dangerous alternative that could be harmful to humans or mutate the climate.

Personal

● Stop using polystyrene tableware and other products, because polystyrene production process using foaming agent is CFCS.

● Products that require CFCs or sea dragons must be labeled to warn consumers of the ozone layer's hazards.

● Terminate unnecessary and wasted use.

● Avoid buying items that contain CFCs.

● Requires Congress to impose a special tax on CFC manufacturers, because in the process of gradual ban, manufacturers are destined to obtain huge profits, such as: Taiwan has been trying to become a treaty of the Montreal Protocol until 1992, when the price of auto refrigerant rose five times, the home appliance industry has also followed the price increase...

● Cars, refrigerators or air-conditioning contain chlorofluorocarbons to check if they are leaking; if you have to re-add them, please find a manufacturer with refrigerant recovery equipment (soldly developed and promoted in China).

4.Main content

In the preface, the Protocol states that emissions from the production and use of ODS have a direct impact on the destruction of the ozone layer and thus have a significant negative impact on human health and the environment. Based on the principle of prevention and prudence, the international community should take action to phase out these substances and strengthen research and development of alternatives. It is specifically pointed out here that the control measures must take into account the special circumstances of developing countries, especially their financial and technical needs. The preface also emphasizes that any measure should be based on science and research results, and consider relevant economic and technological factors.

The protocol highlights the timetable for the phase-out of ODS in Article 2 countries and Article 5 countries. The controlled substances and the phase-out schedule are set out in the Protocol and its related amendments, and only those countries that have ratified an amendment will perform their controlled obligations.

It is important to point out here that the provisions of the Multilateral Fund have been added to the London amendments, taking into account the special needs of developing countries. The Chinese delegation made an indelible contribution to the establishment of the fund. The Multilateral Fund will increase its capital every three years, and the Multilateral Fund will determine the amount of funding for each project.

The protocol also provides for the transfer of technology.States are called upon to transfer environmentally sound technologies to the countries concerned promptly and on favourable terms.The protocol establishes the general assembly as its decision-making mechanism and the conference of the parties meets annually.Controlled substances are listed in the annex to the protocol and are updated in accordance with the relevant decisions of the conference of the parties.

The main elements of the protocol include:

1.The type of controlled substance is specified

There are two types of controlled substances: The first category is 5 kinds of CFCs.The second is the three species of haron.

2.The benchmark for controlling quotas is set

Controlled content includes the production and consumption of controlled substances, in which the consumption is calculated according to the production plus imports and minus exports.The protocol sets out the baseline for the initial limits on production and consumption: both the initial limits on production and consumption in developed countries are based on actual occurrences in 1986;Developing countries (those whose per capita consumption was less than 0.3kg in 1986) are all based on the actual three-year average or 0.3kg per capita per year from 1995 to 1997, whichever is the lower.

3.Set a control time

For the first controlled substances (CFCs) in developed countries, their consumption since July 1st, 1989, and their production since July 1st, 1990 shall not exceed the above quota benchmark annually.With effect from 1st July 1993, the annual limit shall not exceed 80 per cent of the benchmark limit.With effect from 1st July 1998, the annual limit shall not exceed 50 per cent of the benchmark limit.For controlled substances of category ii (halon), their consumption and production shall not exceed the quota benchmark annually since January 1st, 1992.The timetable for controls in developing countries is 10 years later than in developed countries.

4.An evaluation mechanism was established

The protocol provides that, from 1990 onwards and thereafter for at least every four years, the parties shall undertake an assessment of the required control measures on the basis of scientific, environmental, technical and economic information available.To date, the Montreal protocol has undergone four amendments and five major adjustments.

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