RI to Miss 2007 Ozone Deadline

The widespread illegal trade in ozone depleting substances means the government is unlikely to meet a treaty deadline to eliminate the chemicals by the end of next year according to experts in an article recently in the JP.

As one of the 189 countries that has ratified all international agreements on the protection of the ozone layer including the important 1987 Montreal Protocol, Indonesia is obliged to phase out the use of all ozone depleting substances in the next few years. A 2002 Trade and Industry Ministry decree requires the government end the use of chlorofluorocarbons, one of the 96 substances identified in the protocol, by year-end 2007.

Deputy to the State Ministry for the Environment Masnellyarti Hilman said the government had cut the use of ozone depleting substances by around 4,100 metric tons since 1994 when ozone layer protection programs began in the country.

Unlike methyl chloroform and carbon tetra chloride which were banned in 1998, phasing out CFC-12 and methyl bromide, chemicals widely used for air conditioning systems and fumigation, is more difficult because there is still significant demand for the substances. The government estimates about 4,000 metric tons of CFC-12 are being illegally traded every year, 10 times more than the annual legal CFC import quota of 400 metric tons exclusively held by state trading company PT Perusahaan Perdagangan Indonesia.

Trade in CFC-12 continues because many people are still using old refrigerators and car air conditioners. People also prefer to refill their cooling systems with CFC-12 gas which is cheaper than hydrofluorocarbon gas, the ozone-friendly substitute. Meanwhile, more than 60 percent of the country's car air conditioner servicing outlets continue to use CFC-12 to refill car systems.

The United Nations Environmental Program says 96 chemicals have been identified as ODS.

The substances cause increased levels of ultraviolet radiation to reach the earth leading to a higher incidence of eye cataracts and skin cancers among humans and a weakening of people's immunity systems. High levels of UV also harm plants, food crops and animals.

And I say to myself…'What a wonderful world…'