Illegal CFCs need urgent action
4th November 2018
UK: The EIA has described the Montreal Protocol’s current compliance and enforcement regime as “not fit-for-purpose” and has called for urgent, decisive action.
The claims are made today, on the eve of the 30th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Ecuador, and coincides with the launch of the Environmental Investigation Agency’s (EIA) latest update report on illegal CFC emissions.
The report, Tip of the Iceberg: Implications of Illegal CFC Production and Use, includes independent laboratory tests of polyurethane (PU) foam samples – provided by Chinese enterprises previously investigated by EIA – that confirm the presence of CFC11 as a blowing agent.
It updates its previous report in July – Blowing It – which suggested that the illegal production and use of the long-banned ozone-depleting chemical CFC11 is common practice in China and responsible for an alarming rise of CFC emissions detected in the atmosphere.
“The scale and impact of this illegal trade shows how the Montreal Protocol’s current compliance and enforcement regime is not fit-for-purpose,” claimed EIA UK climate campaigns leader Clare Perry.
“With the Kigali Amendment coming into effect in 2019 and bringing with it additional challenges for enforcement, the need for decisive action is particularly urgent,” she warned.
“There has never been a greater need to make all possible reductions to greenhouse gas emissions in the fight against climate change; the steps the Protocol takes now will either make or break its reputation as the most successful environmental treaty ever.”
EIA is urging Parties to the Montreal Protocol to address a number of remaining unanswered questions, in particular the absence of comprehensive data regarding the size of current banks of CFC11 in PU foam and other products or equipment.
The EIA US climate campaign lead, Avipsa Mahapatra, called on all parties to the Montreal Protocol to work together to address the problem.
Related stories:
CFC11 “widely produced” in China – 25 June 2018
USA: The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) claims to have evidence that illegal CFC11 is being widely produced and used in China. Read more…
Action promised to stop CFC11 use – 18 July 2018
AUSTRIA: The delegates to last week’s Montreal Protocol meeting have promised “a sweeping response” to evidence of a rise in CFC11 emissions. Read more…
CFC11 in China a “massive crime” – 9 July 2018
AUSTRIA: A shocking new report suggests the illegal production and use of the long-banned ozone-depleting chemical CFC11 is common practice in China. Read more…
Mysterious rise in CFC11 emissions – 16 May 2018
USA: An ozone depleting CFC refrigerant, thought to be virtually extinct following Montreal Protocol phase outs, has mysteriously reappeared in increasing amounts in the atmosphere. Read more…
