The 16th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer concluded on November 26, 2004, in Prague, Czech Republic. Some of the key issues discussed by the 188 countries participating in the meeting related to exemptions for continued production of methyl bromide, an important agricultural fumigant, and chlorofluorocarbons in metered dose inhalers used to treat asthma and other health conditions.
Since the inception of the Protocol, the U.S. has phased out over 95% of our consumption of ozone depleting substances. The total amount of our 2006 methyl bromide request corresponds to only about 1.5% of our overall use of ozone depleting substances in 1989.
The Montreal Protocol allows countries to continue to have access to methyl bromide by granting critical use exemptions in cases where effective alternatives are not available. On the issue of methyl bromide, the Parties meeting in Prague agreed to approve a large majority of country requests for exempt production in 2006. This will provide a much needed degree of certainty for the agricultural groups that rely on methyl bromide because technically and economically feasible alternatives are not yet available.
The Parties approved the U.S. request to produce and import a total of 27% of the 1991 baseline consumption of methyl bromide, or about 6,900 metric tonnes for 2006. In addition, the Parties granted interim approval for the balance of the U.S. request for 2006, which represents almost 10% of the baseline amount. The Parties agreed that the amount subject to additional review will be considered by technical experts under improved guidelines that were also agreed upon at the Meeting of Parties. Based on this improved technical review, we expect that final decisions can be made promptly on the remaining portion of critical use nominations at a short Meeting of the Parties in June or July of next year.
In a separate action for 2005 critical use exemptions, the Parties approved approximately 2.5% of the baseline amount of methyl bromide requested by the United States, bringing the total to approximately 37% in production and inventory for that year.
These decisions on methyl bromide demonstrate the continued vitality of the Montreal Protocol and the ability of the Parties to adapt to changing scientific information.
The Parties also reached agreement on continued use in 2006 of chlorofluorocarbons for metered dose inhalers used to treat asthma and other health conditions.
2004/1283
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