Project Bottle Breathe

Key Points

The U.S. is spending billions of dollars each year to combat the effects of ozone depletion and global warming on human health and weather patterns.
Two groundbreaking international treaties, the Montreal and Kyoto protocols, have failed to adequately curb use of the chemicals causing ozone depletion and global warming.
Ozone depletion and global warming are both man-made and interconnected, and they constitute the most serious environmental crises ever.

Problems with Current U.S. Policy

Key Problems

U.S. agencies responsible for implementing the Montreal Protocol are working at cross-purposes, leading to weak efforts to protect the ozone layer.
Washington has failed to support efforts to accelerate the HCFC phaseout.
The U.S. has not sufficiently supported the adoption of alternatives to ozone depleting and climate changing substances like HCFCs.



Lethargic Response to Ozone Layer Crisis Denounced at Cairo Meeting

Continued CFC production and its use in developing countries, methyl bromide, global warming & lack of controls on new ozone depleting substances still major concerns

CAIRO - November 23 - In a year marked by the largest-ever ozone hole in the Southern Hemisphere and predictions from scientists that depletion will worsen through the coming decades, delegates to the 10th meeting of the parties to the Montreal Protocol are taking insufficient action to counter the crisis, warned three environmental groups.

"The meeting has faced the emergency in the atmosphere with lethargy," said Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, and Ozone Action representatives, in a joint statement released today. "The agents of ennui are predictable: representatives of power chemical industries, who fill several long rows of seats in the meeting room, are working hard to protect their investments in chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC), hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), methyl bromide, and new ozone depleting chemicals that continue to flood the marketplace and the atmosphere. On many issues, government representatives, led by the U.S. delegation, are marching in step with the industrial lobby."

The groups highlighted four critical issues treated gently by this meeting:

The Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol continues hypocritical funding of projects that consume HCFCs and potent global warming HFCs as replacements for chlorofluorocarbons in developing countries.
"It is totally unacceptable that the relatively paltry resources of the Multilateral Fund are being squandered on substances which will exacerbate our atmospheric crisis when environmentally safer technologies for meeting human needs are available in nearly all sectors," said Mr. John Mate, representative of Greenpeace International. "This is an example of industrialized countries promoting technologies in developing countries which will soon be considered as obsolete in their home markets, due to their use of substances which are to be phased-out or limited under the terms of the Montreal and Kyoto Protocols."



Science has established a firm link between global warming and prolonged ozone layer depletion. It is estimated that global warming will delay the beginning of the recovery of the ozone layer by at least 20 years, resulting in significant increases in dangerous ultraviolet radiation reaching the Earth.

Toward a New Foreign Policy

Key Recommendations

The U.S. should legally link the two agreements to ensure that the implementation of the Montreal Protocol doesn’t undermine the Kyoto Protocol.
The U.S. should work to phase out HCFCs by 2004.
The U.S. should increase the amount of funding it provides to the Multilateral Fund by designating a portion of the existing ozone depleting chemical tax to the fund.


Sources for More Information

Organizations

Center for International Environmental Law
Email: dgoldberg@ciel.org
Website: http://www.ciel.org/
Contact: Don Goldberg

Friends of the Earth
Email: JVallette@foe.org
Website: http://www.foe.org/ptp/atmosphere/
Contact: Jessica Vallette

Greenpeace International
Website: http://www.greenpeace.org/
Contact: John Mate

Ozone Action
Email: ozone_action@ozone.org
Website: http://www.ozone.org/
Contact: Kert Davies/John Passacantado

Pesticide Action Network-Africa
Email: panafric@telecomplus.sn
Website: http://panafric.webjump.com/
Contact: Dr. Cheikh H. Sylla

Pesticide Action Network -Mexico
Email: rapam@mpsnet.com.mx


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