Ozone protection measures face being thinned out

Date: 17/12/1998

By Renée Cordes

EU environment ministers are set to water down proposed restrictions on chemicals which deplete the ozone layer at a meeting next week.

The European Commission is calling for the use of some substances known to destroy ozone, which absorbs most of the sun's ultraviolet radiation, to be phased out.

Under its plan, some of these chemicals would be banned ahead of the dates set out in the Montreal Protocol, an international convention on ozone-depleting substances which the EU has signed up to.

The most contentious of these is methyl bromide, which is used mainly by farmers in southern member states to protect crops such as tomatoes, strawberries and melons. The accord calls for methyl bromide to be phased out by 2005, but the Commission hassuggested outlawing its use in 2001, with exceptions in limited "critical use" cases. Officials say the institution has called for an earlier deadline because of evidence that replacement pesticides are widely available.

Opposition to the move is being led by Italy, which is rallying support from other Mediterranean countries for its call for a longer phase-out period.

As a result, ministers are expected to agree a watered-down version of the proposals at their meeting next Monday (21 December) which both the Commission and Scandinavian member states fear will not go far enough to stop the hole in the ozone layer from growing. Some scientists estimate that the fissure has grown by as much as 25% in the past two years.

A compromise proposal to be discussed next week calls for the production and consumption of methyl bromide to be banned from 2003. It would, however, permit continued use of the pesticide in "critical cases" where no alternatives were available. Ministers are also expected to urge the Commission to encourage the development and use of alternatives as soon as possible.

While environmental officials from non-Mediterranean countries and the Commission are less than pleased with this compromise, they say that would be preferable to the timetable agreed at Montreal.

"The Austrian presidency compromise proposal is too broad for many of the northern states," said one diplomat, adding that they would press for strict limits on the use of methyl bromide even in exceptional cases.

But Vienna will push hard for a deal. "There is a strong will from the presidency to get an agreement," said one Commission official. "Whether we will get it is difficult to tell. There is a fair chance, but I wouldn't place any bets on it."