China's 10th international ozone protection
conference opens in Shenzhen today, the UN's International Ozone
Day, for which celebrations of are being organized by governments
worldwide.
Paul Krajnik, chairman of the executive committee
of the UN Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal
Protocol, arrived yesterday to attend, saying "Shenzhen is not just
a modern city but a green area. Its successful performance in
eliminating ODS (ozone depleting substances) can serve as a good
example for other Chinese cities."
Officials from the State Environmental Protection
Administration (SEPA),
UN Environment Program (UNEP), representatives from more than 40
countries and mayors of 41 Chinese cities will take part in the
two-day event, which will focus on ozone protection in cities and
towns.
Shenzhen Municipal Government and Jilin
Province will be honored with a special gold prize at the
conference for their contribution to ozone layer protection.
There are no Shenzhen-based factories producing ODS
substitutes, but Krajnik said that the fund would invest more in
Shenzhen's research and development of substitute products to speed
up ODS elimination.
A report in Shenzhen local Daily Sunshine
said that, though 90 percent of citizens had heard of the
protective effect of the ozone layer, not many knew how to help
protect it.
An official from the city's environmental
protection bureau said people should buy CFC-free refrigerators and
air conditioners as CFCs were a common ODS, according to the
report.
Developed countries have largely phased out ODS and
banned trading of products containing them, and China now accounts
for 50 percent of global ODS consumption.
The fund promised earlier this year to inject 20
million yuan (US$2.4 million) by the end of 2005 and even more in
the future to assist in Shenzhen's elimination of ODS.
The conference, organized by central government and
hosted by the SEPA, was held annually in Beijing till 2003, then in
Xi'an last year.
Shenzhen reportedly hopes to receive more
professional training from the SEPA and international organizations
like the UNEP, and expects more financial and technical assistance
for projects such as replacing CFCs and establishing a CFC
recycling center.
The participating Chinese mayors signed a proposal
to protect the ozone layer and speed up ODS elimination. According
to the document, their 41 cities will eliminate CFCs from products
before July 1 next year, one year prior to the national
deadline.
The Montreal Protocol on Substances That
Deplete the Ozone Layer is an international treaty that was opened
for signatures in September 1987 and came into force in January
1989. Since then it has been revised five times, most recently in
Beijing in 1999, with 183 nations now party to it.
(Shenzhen Daily September 16, 2005)