Rules tightened to better guard ozone layer

Chinese Premier Li Qiang has signed an amendment to a regulation overseeing ozone-depleting substances, as the country strives to implement the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, according to a media release from the State Council, the nation's Cabinet.

The amendment rules that enterprises that generate ODS incidentally in their production process should not discharge the substances directly. Instead, they should dispose of them in an environmentally friendly manner.

It also stipulates that companies that produce and consume such substances in large quantity and those that generate a large amount of ODS incidentally should install automated monitoring devices, which will be connected to the monitoring systems of environmental authorities.

There will also be stiffer penalties for violations, according to the release.

It said companies that receive administrative penalties for violating the regulation will have their misconduct included in their credit records, and the violations will be made public.

Finalized in 1987, the Montreal Protocol came into effect in 1989. Parties then agreed on the Kigali Amendment to the protocol in 2016, which aims to gradually reduce the consumption and production of hydrofluorocarbons, based on the consensus that they are powerful greenhouse gases.

ODS were once widely used in foam-blowing agents and refrigerants. Given their zero impact on the depletion of the ozone layer, HFCs are used as replacements for some of the substances that have such an effect.

According to the release, under the revised rules, the definition of ODS was changed through the removal of some descriptive words, allowing HFCs to also be covered by the regulation.

At an event held on Sept 14 to celebrate the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, Zhao Yingmin, vice-minister of ecology and environment, said China has accomplished data verification in the HFC sector. It has worked out a plan to cap the production and consumption of such substances and will distribute the allowances in 2024.

The International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer falls on Sept 16 every year.

The vice-minister said China will fully implement an allowance-based HFC management mechanism to ensure it can realize its HFC control target this year.

He also said China has phased out roughly 628,000 metric tons of ozone-depleting substances, which represent over half the contributions made by developing nations.

China's efforts to phase out ODS from 1991 to 2020 avoided the emissions of greenhouse gases equivalent to 26 billion tons of carbon dioxide.