Substances that deplete the ozone layer

The proposal for a Regulation aimed to merge the two Regulations previously adopted by the Council on substances that deplete the ozone layer. It also supplemented existing Community legislation by making the recovery of such substances obligatory. The Commission proposal went further than the Montreal Protocol in that it set out a more rapid timetable for limitation on hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and methyl bromide. The measures proposed in the Regulation related to the use and placing on the market (but not production) of HCFCs within the Community. Among the relaxations applicable to HCFCs, the Regulation envisaged extending the intermediate stages from 2 to 4 years. The timetable set out by the Commission was as follows: - at 1 January 1995 (and the four succeeding years): freeze at 1989 level, or maximum authorised level of 2.5% of consumption of CFCs in 1989; - in 2000 (and the three succeeding years): maximum of 75% based on 1989 (reduction of 25%); - in 2004: maximum of 40% based on 1989 (reduction of 60%); - in 2008: maximum of 20% based on 1989 (reduction of 80%); - in 2014: HCFCs no longer to be used or placed on the Community market (instead of 2030 as agreed in Montreal). It should be noted that exports of HCFCs to third countries could continue, subject to compliance with the Montreal Protocol. Another relaxation was that production quotas, initially fixed for each individual undertaking, were now 'communitised'. The measures proposed for methyl bromide had been relaxed: production and consumption would be frozen at 1 January 1995 and reduced by 25% at 1 January 1996. Finally, the timetable for total elimination of the production and consumption of HBFCs was unchanged from the Montreal provisions, which set a deadline of 1 January 1996. �