§ 19. Mr. Andrew MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress Britain is making towards implementing the Montreal protocol on chlorofluorocarbon reductions.
§ Mr. TrippierBy the end of 1989 the United Kingdom had cut its production and consumption of CFCs by over 50 per cent.—10 years ahead of current protocol requirements and five years ahead of even the strengthened provisions now being negotiated.
§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to receive the technical report he has commissioned concerning the problem of the existing stock of chlorofluorocarbons.
§ Mr. ForthI have been asked to reply.
667WThis report has been commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry. It seeks to establish the prospects for recovery for recycling or destruction of chlorofluorocarbons and halons, and was received this week.
The study will include assessments of the current and future likely levels of stocks, use and emissions of those substances and of the prospects for alternative products and processes in the United Kingdom. I expect it to be published later this spring. The study complements a previous one for the Department on the impact of health and safety and environment regulatory controls on chlorinated solvents. This was published on 6 March and copies of it have been placed in the Library of the House.