Production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances

Globally, the 1987 Montreal Protocol is widely recognised as one of the most successful multilateral environmental agreements to date. Its implementation has led to a decrease in the atmospheric burden of ozone-depleting substances in the lower atmosphere and in the stratosphere. The schedule for the limitation and phase-out of consumption of ozone-depleting substances, as defined in the Montreal Protocol, is summarised in the Indicator Specification.

At EU level, the EU regulation on substances that deplete the ozone layer (ODS Regulation, 1005/2009/EC), which in many aspects goes further than the Montreal Protocol, also brings forward the phasing out of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) from 2020 to 2015 and introduces an HCFCs new fill ban and a servicing ban. Moreover, with only a few exemptions, the prohibition of imports and exports of products and equipment containing or relying on ODS, including HCFCs, is also brought forward. It also includes a total ban on the use of methyl bromide, including quarantine and pre-shipment applications.

Consumption of ozone-depleting substances decreased significantly in the EEA-33, particularly in the first half of the 1990s. Figure 1 shows that the EEA-33 phased out its use of ozone-depleting substances at a faster rate than the world average. It is nowadays practically zero.

ODS consumption in the EEA-33 fell from approximately 420 000 ODP tonnes in 1986 to negative values in 2002. Since 2002, values have been negative, except for the years 2003, 2006 and 2012, when they were slightly positive. The value in 2013 was -3 096.41 ODP tonnes.

Consumption is a parameter that gives an idea of the presence of ozone-depleting substances in the market and tracks the progress in phasing out these chemicals. Calculated for each calendar year, it is mainly defined as 'production plus imports minus exports' (quantities destroyed or used in certain applications like feedstock or quarantine and pre-shipment services are subtracted where relevant). As such, its formula can yield a negative number when substances are produced and imported in quantities which do not compensate for the amounts exported or destroyed. This usually happens when exports or destruction take place for ODS that were in the EEA-33 market in previous years (stocks). Additionally, different substances have different ODP values. If consumption is calculated in ODP tonnes a negative value is therefore also obtained when production/imports take place for low-ODP substances and exports/destruction take place for high-ODP substances. The latter is the current situation due to the fact that certain high-ODP substances are produced in the EU as by-products which, in general, are stocked and before being destroyed.

A closer look at individual ODS substance groups reveals that the phase-outs of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, 1,1,1 trichloroethane (TCA), hydrobromofluorocarbons (HBFCs), bromochloromethane (BCM) and carbon tetrachloride (CTC) were implemented by the EU according to the agreed schedule under the Montreal Protocol. However, the phase-out of methyl bromide (MB) took three additional years to be completed (due to remaining critical uses approved by the parties to the Protocol. The effects of the HCFCs freeze under the Montreal Protocol and the HCFCs new fill ban under the ODS Regulation can also clearly be observed.

At a global scale, consumption of ozone depleting substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol has declined by some 99.88% worldwide in the 1986-2013 period.

However, much remains to be done to ensure that the damage to the ozone layer is reverted. Initiatives to further reduce releases of ODS could involve the following:

• Addressing the strong growth in the production and consumption of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) in developing countries;
• Collecting and safely disposing of the large quantities of ODS contained in old equipment and buildings (the so-called ODS 'banks');
• Ensuring that restrictions on ODS continue to be properly implemented and the remaining worldwide use of ODS declines further;
• Preventing illegal trade in ODS; and
  
• Strengthening the international and European framework on ozone-depleting substances (e.g. inclusion of other known ODS, restricting exemptions).

In the EEA-33, ozone-depleting substances are still used to the extent allowed by the Montreal Protocol and the ODS Regulation (applying to the EU-28) by means of exemptions to the overall phase-down. The exempted uses concern 'critical uses', 'feedstock uses', 'process agent uses' and 'laboratory and analytical uses'.

Table 1 (Figure 2) shows an estimate of the quantities of substances covered by the Montreal Protocol that are used within the EU for the above-mentioned uses as reported to the EEA (2013 reporting year, coverage EU-28).

For 'feedstock' and 'process agent use', known as having very low emission ratios (0.32 and 2.75%), actual emissions are also to be reported by the companies concerned. These low emission ratios are one of the reasons why these two uses operate with less stringent rules under the Montreal Protocol and the EU legislation on ozone-depleting substances. However, given that the Montreal Protocol targets have generally been achieved for the EEA-33 and worldwide, the importance of these emissions subsequently becomes more apparent. Therefore, any future changes on the rules affecting these uses could potentially result in additional environmental benefits.

The current reporting framework on ODS in the EU does not include reporting on emissions for laboratory uses. Critical uses are estimated and thus the figures are not comparable for use in this indicator. It is also not possible to estimate the level of emissions that arise from those uses, laboratory and critical uses due to the multitude of technologies and industry-sites involved. Instead, these figures show which ODS uses are still relevant in the EU today and could be a future target of additional operational rules.

The EU has already gone beyond the rules of the Montreal Protocol to tackle some of the remaining challenges. Among these actions, as previously mentioned, the ODS Regulation introduced a new fill ban and a servicing ban affecting HCFCs. The ODS Regulation also covers new substances in addition to those controlled under the Montreal Protocol.

Table 2 (Figure 3) shows the combined ozone depleting potential of the substances covered by both the Montreal Protocol and the ODS Regulation. It becomes apparent that the additional substances covered by the ODS Regulation only ('new substances') are especially relevant as feedstock and industrial solvents (many 'new substances' are used for this latter purpose). The substitution of traditional ODS with these newer ozone-depleting substances is a relatively recent trend and closely monitored by the EEA.

There is also scientific evidence that chemicals other than those covered by the Montreal Protocol and the ODS Regulation are playing a role in the depletion of ozone. Adequately managing the use and releases of other known ozone-depleting substances represents a challenge that will need to be addressed by the international community and the EU.

Maximum historical depletion over the south hemisphere (24 September 2006) and over the North hemisphere (15 March 2011)

Note: False-color view of total ozone over the Arctic and Antarctic poles. The purple and blue colors indicate lowest ozone presence, while yellow and red indicate higher ozone presence.

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Depletion of stratospheric ozone occurs over both hemispheres of the Earth. However, this phenomenon is significantly less severe in the northern hemisphere (Arctic) than in the southern hemisphere (Antarctica). This is the case because year-to-year meteorological variability is larger over the Arctic than over the Antarctic. Furthermore, temperatures in the stratosphere do not remain low for a long time in the Arctic as is the case in the Antarctic.

The highest historical levels of ozone depletion took place on 24 September 2006 in the southern hemisphere and on 15 March 2011 in the northern Hemisphere. Figure 4 shows the significant difference in the affected area and concentration levels of O₃ between the two hemispheres. Concentration levels of 200 Dobson Units (DU)or less (represented in blue/violet in the images) are technically considered to be a severe ozone depletion and constitute the so-called ozone hole. This is only apparent in the southern hemisphere.

When taking a closer look at the situation over Antarctica, where the phenomenon is more serious, it becomes apparent that the depth and areal extent of the ozone hole remains there. Further in 2011, there was a larger depletion compared to 2010 and 2012. On 11 September of 2014, the ozone-hole area reached a daily maximum of 24.1 million square kilometres (Figure 5) - equivalent to about six times the territory of the EU.

The extent of the ozone hole seems to be stagnating with a slight positive prospect. This is also visible in terms of minimum ozone concentrations. During the last three years (2012-2014), the average lowest concentration was 118 DU while over the ten preceding years (2002-2011) it reached an average value of 102.9 DU.

However, the mitigation of the ozone depletion is still very fragile and scientific evidence suggests that more action is still required to remove pressure on the ozone layer caused by ODS.