§ 36. Mrs. LaitTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action the United Kingdom is taking to phase out the production of substances damaging the ozone layer.
§ Mr. YeoUnder the EC regulation that implements the Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer, United Kingdom production of halons must cease at the end of this year, chlorofluorocarbons and carbon tetrachloride at the end of next year and 1,1,1 trichloroethane at the end of 1995. Controls on hydrochlorofluorocarbons—HCFCs—and methyl bromide were added to the protocol last year, and a new regulation which would apply them within the EC is currently under discussion. In those discussions, the United Kingdom is pressing for the Community to agree to tighter controls than the protocol contains on both HCFCs and methyl bromide.