La Commission européenne lance une évaluation du Règlement n°1005/2009 sur les substances appauvrissant l'ozone (SAO) (en anglais)

In 1987, the international community established the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone layer¹. The aim of the Protocol was to reduce the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances using reduction schedules adapted for developed and developing countries.

 

In Europe, the first regulation was passed in 1988 (3322/88) to limit the importation of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons, the two ODS concerned by the Montreal Protocol at that time, into the Community.

 

This regulation has been updated several times - in 1991 (594/91), 1994 (3093/94), 2000 (2037/2000) and 2009 (1005/2009) - in order to comply with the different amendments and obligations set out in the Montreal Protocol. The regulation includes additional requirements and is occasionally more ambitious than the Montreal Protocol, since it envisages quicker phase-out schedules.

 

To comply with the Montreal Protocol, HCFCs were added in the 1994 regulation, since those substances had been added to the Protocol in the Copenhagen Amendment, which entered into force the same year. The production, importation, exportation, placing on the market, use, recovery, recycling, reclamation and destruction of all the substances concerned by the Montreal Protocol (CFCs, halons, methyl bromide, HCFCs among others) plus 5 additional chemicals not covered under the Protocol have been restricted since the 2000 regulation.

 

The 2009 update added a ban on the use of the substances mentioned above for the maintenance or servicing of the equipment using them. As some substitutes for ODS already existed, stricter control measures were also evoked.

 

On July 14, 2017, the European Commission launched a roadmap to evaluate the Regulation n°1005/2009. It will assess whether the ODS Regulation is still relevant and valid, particularly in view of the current developments of alternatives to the use of ozone-depleting substances. The evaluation will attempt to define the regulatory costs and benefits, and will also check if there are any caps in the ODS Regulation as compared to the decisions set out under the Montreal Protocol. It will be supported by an external study and will include a 12 week public consultation.

 

¹ See the IIR Summary Sheet on the Montreal Protocol.