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Indicator Assessment
Between 1986 and 2002, the consumption of ozone-depleting substances declined significantly, falling from 343 000 ozone-depleting potential tonnes to around zero in the 28 EU Member States. This was driven by the implementation of the 1987 Montreal Protocol. Since the early 1990s, the EU has taken additional measures — set out in the EU regulation — to limit ozone-depleting substances, and has exceeded its commitments under the Montreal Protocol. Although some progress has been made towards reversing the depletion of the ozone hole, more must be done to ensure that recovery continues.
Consumption of controlled ozone-depleting substances (ODS)
Note: Figure shows percentage consumption in ozone-depleting potential (ODP) tonnes from 1986 to 2019 relative to ozone-depleting substance (ODS) consumption in ODP tonnes in 1986.
The release of ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) into the atmosphere leads to depletion of the ozone layer. This results in an increase in UV radiation at the Earth’s surface, with a wide variety of damaging effects on human health, ecosystems and food chains.
Various policy measures have been introduced to limit or phase out the production and consumption of ODSs. At international level, the 1987 Montreal Protocol (UN, 1987) sets schedules to phase out over 200 ODSs, including chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). As a result, global consumption of ODSs declined by 98.5 % between 1986 and 2018, making this one of the most successful multilateral environmental agreements to date.
The EU Member States have phased out ODSs controlled under the Montreal Protocol at a faster rate than the world average, with consumption falling from 343 000 ozone-depleting potential tonnes in 1986 to below zero in 2002. Since 2002, values have remained negative or just above zero.
The tremendous progress made in Europe has been driven in part by EU legislation — the Ozone Regulation (EU, 2009) — that in many aspects goes further than the Montreal Protocol, for instance by covering additional substances and accelerating the phasing out of HCFCs by requiring that these substances be phased out by 2015, rather than by 2020 as under the Montreal Protocol.
Despite progress, more needs to be done. From 2012, unexpectedly high concentrations of the ODS CFC-11 were detected in the atmosphere, suggesting that its production had resumed illegally. Sources of CFC-11 accounting for 40 to 60 % of the global increase were identified in eastern mainland China, although preliminary data suggest that emissions decreased after 2017, both globally and from China. It will be important to ensure that the illegal trade in ODSs is addressed, as this could delay ozone layer recovery significantly.
It will also be important to ensure that international and European legislation is strengthened, for instance by including ODSs not covered at present. Evidence suggests that chemicals not covered play a role in depleting the ozone layer, for instance very short-lived substances, such as dichloromethane. Levels of such substances have increased, uncontrolled, by around 60 % in the past decade, which could delay ozone recovery by 30 years.
Maximum ozone hole area
Note: The ozone hole is a region of exceptionally depleted ozone in the stratosphere over the Antarctic. All figures are in million square kilometres.
Depletion of stratospheric ozone occurs over both hemispheres of the Earth. Areas with ozone concentrations of 220 Dobson Units or less are considered severely depleted and constitute the so-called ozone hole; this is apparent in only the southern hemisphere (over the Antarctic).
The largest ozone hole — reaching 28.4 million km2 — occurred in September 2000. This is equivalent to almost seven times the territory of the EU. Although the extent of the ozone hole shows considerable variability — driven for instance by fluctuations in stratospheric temperature — it has, overall, shown signs of recovery since 2000. This is predominantly attributable to the phasing out of ODSs under the Montreal Protocol (UN, 1987). The ozone hole can also be influenced by volcanic eruptions, partially explaining its relatively large extent in some years, e.g. 2015 (27.9 million km2).
The extent of the ozone hole seems, at least, to be levelling off and there is reason to be cautiously optimistic. However, scientific evidence makes it clear that more action is still required to remove the pressure on the ozone layer caused by ODSs and mitigate ozone depletion.
Ozone-depleting substances (ODS) are long-lived chemicals that contain chlorine and/or bromine and can deplete the stratospheric ozone layer. This indicator quantifies the current state of the ozone layer and the progress being made towards meeting the EU’s Montreal Protocol commitments.
Depending on the metric involved, this indicator uses the annual maximum Antarctic ozone hole area in square kilometres (km2) and ODS consumption weighted by the ozone-depleting potential (ODP) of the substances in ODP tonnes.
The 1987 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Montreal Protocol is widely recognised as one of the most successful multilateral environmental agreements to date. Its implementation has led to a global decrease in the impact of ODS on the atmosphere. The agreement covers the phase-out of over 200 individual ODS including CFCs, halons, CTC, TCA, HCFCs, HBFCs, BCM and MB. The Montreal Protocol controls the consumption and production of these substances, not their emissions.
Following the signing of the Montreal Protocol and its subsequent amendments and adjustments, policy measures have been taken to limit or phase out the production and consumption of ODS to protect the stratospheric ozone layer against depletion. This indicator tracks the progress of EU Member States towards this limiting or phasing out of ODS consumption.
For the EU, the ratification dates were the following:
|
Treaty |
Date of ratification |
|---|---|
|
17 October 1988 |
|
|
16 December 1988 |
|
|
20 December 1991 |
|
|
20 November 1995 |
|
|
17 November 2000 |
|
|
25 March 2002 |
EU Member States have made tremendous progress in reducing the consumption and production of ODS since the signing of the Montreal Protocol. In that time, ODS production has fallen from over half a million ODP tonnes to practically zero, not including production for exempted uses. Since 2009, EU Member States have also been subject to the more stringent EU ODS Regulation (1005/2009/EC as amended by 744/2010/EU), which applies to additional substances and accelerates the phase-out of the remaining ODS in the EU.
The international target under the ozone conventions and protocols is the complete phase-out of ozone-depleting substances (ODS).
Maximum ozone hole area
This indicator presents the maximum ozone hole area in km2. The ozone hole area is determined from total ozone satellite measurements. It is defined as the region of ozone with values of below 220 DU located south of 40 °S. The maximum ozone hole area is provided in km2 by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS — https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/).
Consumption of ozone-depleting substances
The indicator presents ODS consumption in units of tonnes of ODS, which is the amount of ODS consumed, multiplied by their respective ODP value. UNEP Ozone Secretariat data are already provided in ODP tonnes. All data can be downloaded from https://ozone.unep.org/countries/data-table.
Formulae for calculating consumption are defined by Articles 1 and 3 of the Montreal Protocol and can be accessed here: https://ozone.unep.org/.
Simply put, consumption is defined as production plus imports minus exports. Amounts destroyed or used as feedstock are subtracted from production. Amounts of MB used for quarantine and pre-shipment applications are excluded. Exports to non-parties are included, but are not allowed.
Parties report each of the above components annually to the Ozone Secretariat in official data reporting forms. The parties do not, however, make the above subtractions and other calculations themselves. The Ozone Secretariat performs this task itself.
No gap filling takes place.
Policies focus on the production and consumption of ODS rather than emissions, which are what actually harm the ozone layer. The reason is that emissions from multiple small sources are much more difficult to monitor accurately than industrial production and consumption. Consumption is the driver of industrial production. Production and consumption can precede emissions by many years, as emissions typically take place after the disposal of products in which ODS are used (fire extinguishers, refrigerators, etc.). The same is true for sales of ODS for certain uses and their actual use.
Data provided by the Ozone Secretariat and the EEA database on ozone-depleting substances are based on reporting from companies that produce, import, export, use or destroy ODS. A number of rigorous quality checks ensure a high degree of completeness and correctness. The quality of the data ultimately remains the responsibility of each reporting company.
Omissions and double-counting are theoretically possible because of the nature of the reporting obligation under the EU Ozone Regulation. It is estimated that such uncertainties affect a negligible part of the data.
Policies focus on the production and consumption of ODS rather than on emissions. The reason is that emissions from multiple small sources are much more difficult to monitor accurately than industrial production and consumption. Consumption is the driver of industrial production. Production and consumption can precede emissions by many years, as emissions typically take place after the disposal of products in which ODS are used (fire extinguishers, refrigerators, etc.).
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/production-and-consumption-of-ozone-4/assessment or scan the QR code.
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