Production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances in Europe

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 ODS in the lower atmosphere and in the stratosphere. The schedule for the limitation and phase out of the consumption of ODS, as defined in the Montreal Protocol, is summarised in the accompanying ODS indicator specification.

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 accelerated the phasing out of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) from 2020 (as required under the Montreal Protocol) to 2015, and introduces a new-fill and a servicing ban for HCFCs. This ban is related to the placing on the market and use of non-virgin HCFCs, destined for the maintenance or servicing of existing refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat pump equipment, and which are prohibited in the EU. 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 ban on the use of methyl bromide, including quarantine and pre-shipment applications.

Consumption of ODS decreased significantly in the EEA-28, particularly in the first half of the 1990s. Figure 1 shows that the EEA-28 phased out its use of ODS at a faster rate than the world average. Nowadays it is practically zero.

ODS consumption in the EEA-28 fell from approximately 343 000 ODP tonnes in 1986 to negative values in 2002. Since 2002, values have been negative, except for 2003 and 2012, when they were just above zero. The value in 2018 was -1 048 ODP tonnes.

Consumption is a parameter that gives an idea of the presence of ODS on 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 are subtracted where relevant). As such, its formula can yield a negative number when substances are produced and imported in quantities that do not compensate for the amounts exported or destroyed. This usually happens when exports or destruction take place for ODS that were previously on the market in the EEA-28 (stocks). Additionally, different substances have different ODP values. If consumption is calculated in ODP tonnes, a negative value is 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 that, in general, are stocked before being destroyed.

A closer look at individual ODS substance groups reveals that the phase-out 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 a further 3 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.

Globally, consumption of ODS controlled under the Montreal Protocol has declined by 99.67 % worldwide in the period 1986-2018.

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 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 ODS (e.g. inclusion of other known ODS, restricting exemptions).

In the EU-28, ODS are still used to the extent allowed by the Montreal Protocol and the EU ODS Regulation by means of exemptions to the overall phase out. Exemptions concern 'critical uses', 'feedstock uses', 'process agent uses' and 'laboratory and analytical uses'.

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 (data reported in 2019 for the year 2018, coverage: EU-28).

For 'feedstock' and 'process agent use' — known to have very low emission factors (0.03 and 0.82 %, respectively) — actual emissions are also to be reported by the companies concerned. These low emission factors are one of the reasons why these two uses operate with less stringent rules under the Montreal Protocol and the EU legislation on ODS. However, given that the Montreal Protocol targets have generally been achieved for the EU-28 and worldwide, the importance of these emissions subsequently becomes more apparent. Therefore, any future changes to 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 or critical uses. It is also not possible to reliably estimate these emissions due to the multitude of technologies and industry-sites involved. Instead, these figures are meant to 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.

Figure 3 shows the combined ODP 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 ones is a relatively recent trend and is closely monitored by the EEA.

Since 2012, unexpectedly high concentrations of the ozone-depleting substance trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11) have been detected in the atmosphere. This suggests that production of CFC-11 has been resumed illegally in recent years, potentially delaying ozone recovery significantly. Sources of CFC-11 emissions were identified in eastern mainland China and amounted to at least 40 to 60 % of the global increase in emissions of CFC-11. Preliminary data suggest that after 2017, the emission of CFC-11 decreased again, globally and from eastern mainland China.

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. In particular, very short-lived substances, such as dichloromethane, could have a negative impact. Given their uncontrolled growth of around 60 % over the last decade, they could delay ozone recovery by 30 years. Adequately managing the use and releases of other known ODS represents a challenge that will need to be addressed by the international community and the EU.

Maximum ozone hole extent over the southern hemisphere, from 1979 to 2019

Note: Copernicus analyses of total ozone column over the Antarctic. The blue colours indicate lowest ozone columns, while yellow and red indicate higher ozone columns. Ozone columns are commonly measured in Dobson Units. One Dobson Unit is the number of molecules of ozone that would be required to create a layer of pure ozone 0.01 millimetres thick at a temperature of 0 degrees Celsius and a pressure of 1 atmosphere. 300 DU corresponds to 3 millimetres of ozone.

Data source:

• Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service provided by Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS)

Downloads and more info

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.

Generally, concentration levels of 220 Dobson Units (DU, marked by the thick contour line in Figure 4) or less (represented in blue colours in Figure 4) are considered to show severe ozone depletion and constitute the so-called ozone hole. This is only apparent in the southern hemisphere. Here, the largest historical extent of the ozone hole — 28.4 million square kilometres (Figures 4 and 5) — occurred in September 2000. This area is equivalent to almost seven times the territory of the EU.

Overall, the ozone hole has shown signs of healing since 2000, which is predominantly attributable to phasing out ozone-depleting substances under the Montreal Protocol. At the same time, the extent of the ozone hole is strongly driven by stratospheric temperature, with warmer temperatures leading to a smaller ozone hole, such as in 2019 (for more information, visit the website of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS)). However, this is not directly attributable to anthropogenic climate change, since greenhouse gases generally have a cooling effect in the stratosphere, while they contribute to global warming in the troposphere. This stratospheric cooling has a positive effect on ozone recovery with the exception of the polar regions. Here, very low temperatures can lead to an increase in the formation of polar stratospheric clouds, which facilitate ozone depletion. The ozone hole can also be periodically influenced by volcanic eruptions, increasing the stratospheric particle load and thereby depleting ozone. This partially explains those occasional years during which the ozone hole is comparatively large, e.g. 2015 (27.9 million km²).

The extent of the ozone hole seems to be stagnating and future prospects are slightly positive. Currently, the ozone hole over the southern hemisphere showed a maximum area of 9.3 million km² on 30 September 2019 (Figures 4 and 5). During the last 5 years (2015-2019), the average ozone hole area was 20.1 million km², while over the ten preceding years (2010-2019) the average value reached 21.1 million km².

However, the mitigation of 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.