Community needs to protect the ozone layer
The European Community must strengthen its hand in negotiations within the framework of the Montreal Protocol and introduce European measures that demonstrate the feasibility of reducing substances which deplete the ozone layer, according to the Economic and Social Committee (ESC). This was the ESC's response to the European Council decision of 23 October 1998 to consult the ESC on the "Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) on substances that deplete the ozone layer". The ESC has closely followed developments in Community regulation of substances that deplete the ozone layer. It has noted and encouraged the progress made and welcomed the achievements made possible by technological progress. The ESC has always emphasised that action to protect the ozone layer must be on a global scale. Therefore it is of the opinion that the Community must strengthen its hand in negotiations within the framework of the Montreal Protocol. The Community should also point the way forward with European measures which demonstrate the feasibility of reducing substances which deplete the ozone layer, and the viability of alternative solutions, with the time-frame proposed in the Commission draft, says the ESC. The ESC welcomes the fact that, thanks to research and investment in perfecting alternative substances, the technological achievements of some industries will enable Europe to bring forward the phase-out date stipulated in the Protocol. The ESC calls on the Commission to ponder more carefully an approach under which a distinction is drawn between the various types of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) in terms of environmental impact, in order to speed up the phase-out of those with the greatest ozone-depletion potential. The ESC also calls on the Commission to look more closely into safety aspects of the alternatives, such as HC flammability and ammonia toxicity. The Commission should also emphasise the links scientists are uncovering between the Greenhouse Gas Effect and the hole in the ozone layer. Finally, the ESC notes that issues, such as the recovery of used controlled substances and leakage of controlled substances, have a key role to play in reducing the environmental impact of controlled substances.