Pacific Islands to Phase Out Ozone Depleters

BANGKOK, Thailand, May 17, 2001 (ENS) - The Pacific Islands have been given a major financial boost in their efforts to phase out ozone depleting substances, as required under the Montreal Protocol.

Refrigerants and air conditioning chemicals chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), deplete the ozone layer, a natural shield in the earth’s upper atmosphere that filters out harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun. Another chemical of concern, methyl bromide, a fumigant in quarantine and pre-shipment applications,

The island of Yap, part of the Federated States of Micronesia (Photo courtesy McCoy Travel)

The Fund’s Executive Committee allocated US$880,000 for the project at its meeting in Canada in March. The project budget includes US$276,000 from Australia, the country most directly affected by the widening ozone hole over Antarctica.

The project will be managed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It will enable the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Palau, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu to completely phase out the use of CFCs by the end of 2005.

Pacific island countries currently consume about 50.6 metric tons of CFCs every year. Fiji stopped using the chemicals in 2000, while the Cook Islands and Niue are currently preparing to ratify the Protocol, with help from New Zealand.

The strategy will include direct support for national monitoring actions, regional facilitation for policy setting, training and public awareness, collaboration with bilateral donors, and advisory services from UNEP’s Division of Technology, Industry and Economics staff based in the Regional Office of Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok.

Beachside bungalow in Tonga (Photo courtesy World Surfaris)

“Fifteen years on from the scientific discovery of the ozone hole over Antarctica we are now phasing out ozone depleting substances in practical ways in the smallest and most isolated developing countries, having successfully halted production and consumption in the Western world.”

The workshop on the phaseout strategy for the Pacific is jointly organized by UNEP, the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, Australia and New Zealand. It will be held May 21 to 23 in the Mocambo Hotel in Nadi.

In approving the strategy the Committee noted the political commitment of Pacific Island governments to total phase out of these substances ahead of their obligations under the Montreal Protocol, their history of strong regional cooperation, and the demands of other more pressing environmental concerns such as climate change.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2002. All rights reserved.