§ Mr. SumbergTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment to what extent CFCs are still needed by the refrigeration and air conditioning industries in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MacleanFollowing a proposal by the United Kingdom, the European Community decided earlier this year that it should seek to tighten the controls in the Montreal protocol so that CFC production and consumption had to be phased out by the end of 1995, subject to any exemptions for essential uses. We now need to consider whether an earlier phase-out is possible within the community, and whether production for essential uses is likely to be necessary. To assist in this, the Department has commissioned a study by March Consulting Group on CFC use within the United Kingdom refrigeration and air conditioning industry. The study will consider the pattern of CFC used by the industry and the extent to which substitution by other refrigerants is taking place; how the pattern of use is likely to change between now and the end of the century; and the quantities of CFCs that industry will need in that period and the extent to which this can be met from recycled material.