§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the environmental effects which will follow from the use of ozone depleting substances for the eight year period allowed under the EU Regulations on Ozone Depleting Substances. [48074]
§ Mr. MeacherUnder EU regulation number 2037–2000, the production and use of virgin ozone depleting HCFCs is due to be prohibited in Europe by 2010. In the interim 8-year period, we anticipate that there will be a maximum HCFC emission of 27 thousand ODP (ozone depleting potential) Tonnes in Europe. This is a small figure in comparison to peak emissions of CFCs during the 1980s, which reached a maximum of 435 thousand ODP Tonnes per year, and thus makes a very small addition to the current atmospheric chlorine burden. The additional effect on ozone depletion is likely to be very small relative to other factors which influence the stratosphere. HCFCs have a much smaller impact on ozone depletion than CFCs, which they replace in many applications, and HCFC use until 2010 has allowed a more rapid move away from reliance on CFCs.