HC Deb 22 February 1990 vol 167 cc892-3W
Mr. Tom Arnold

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress is being made to reduce the level of chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Heathcoat-Amory

Stratospheric chlorine levels are expected to start falling when the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) is cut by 85 per cent. In the current renegotiation of the Montreal protocol, the European Community position, based on our own proposals, is to require this by 1995, earlier than any other proposal. British consumption of CFCs has already been cut by over 50 per cent., 10 years earlier than the protocol currently requires.