[Senate Executive Report 107-10]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress Exec. Rpt.
SENATE
2d Session 107-10
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AMENDMENTS TO THE MONTREAL PROTOCOL ON SUBSTANCES THAT DEPLETE THE
OZONE LAYER
_______
October 2, 2002.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Biden, from the Committee on Foreign Relations,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany Treaty Docs. 106-10 and 106-32]
The Committee on Foreign Relations, to which were referred
the Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that
Deplete the Ozone Layer, adopted at Montreal on September 15-
17, 1997 by the Ninth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal
Protocol; and the Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, adopted
at Beijing on December 3, 1999 by the Eleventh Meeting of the
Parties to the Montreal Protocol, having considered the same,
reports favorably thereon and recommends that the Senate give
its advice and consent to ratification thereof as set forth in
this report and the accompanying resolutions of advice and
consent to ratification.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose..........................................................1
II. Background.......................................................2
III. Entry Into Force.................................................4
IV. Committee Action and Comments....................................4
V. Texts of Resolutions of Advice and Consent to Ratification.......5
I. Purpose
The purposes of the 1997 amendment (hereafter the
``Montreal Amendment'') are the expansion of trade controls to
include methyl bromide and the addition of a licensing
requirement for trade in certain controlled substances. The
purposes of the 1999 amendment (hereafter the ``Beijing
Amendment'') are the addition of bromochloromethane as a
controlled substance, along with associated control measures;
the addition of a freeze in the level of production of
hydrochlorofluorocarbons (``HCFCs'') from January 1, 2004; the
addition of a ban on trade with non-Parties in HCFCs from
January 1, 2004; and the addition of reporting requirements on
the annual use of methyl bromide for quarantine and pre-
shipment purposes.
II. Background
The Letters of Submittal from the Secretary of State to the
President, dated September 10, 1999 and set forth in Treaty
Document 106-10 (for the Montreal Amendment) and March 24, 2000
and set forth in Treaty Document 106-32 (for the Beijing
Amendment) provide background to these treaties. Below is
additional background to the underlying Montreal Protocol and
the pending amendments to the Protocol.
Vienna Convention. In 1985, the discovery of a rapid
decrease in the stratospheric ozone layer over Antarctica led
to the negotiation and ratification of the Vienna Convention on
the Protection of the Ozone Layer, a framework treaty setting
forth the general obligations of the Parties and creating a
structure for addressing the problem. It identified a number of
chemical substances thought to have the potential of affecting
the ozone layer and committed its Parties to a program of
research into the causes and effects of ozone depletion and to
cooperative efforts to limit ``human activities'' found to
contribute to any adverse effects. It contemplated the future
negotiation and adoption of protocols and annexes that would
impose more specific obligations as scientific knowledge about
the causes and effects of ozone depletion increased. The Senate
gave its advice and consent to the Convention in 1986 and the
United States ratified the agreement later that year. It has
now been ratified by 184 countries.
Montreal Protocol. In 1987, the Conference of the Parties
to the Convention (the assembly of states that ratified it)
negotiated the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the
Ozone Layer, with Annexes. The Protocol identified
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons as substances that needed
to be controlled because of their contribution to the depletion
of the ozone layer. Annex A required Parties to the Protocol to
reduce their consumption and production of these ``controlled
substances'' by 50 percent from their 1986 level by 1999, and,
within one year of the Protocol's entry into force, to
eliminate trade in such substances with states that are not
Parties to the Protocol. The Protocol also conferred on the
Conference of Parties the authority to make adjustments in the
schedule of reduction in the production and consumption of the
controlled substances without further reference to the State
Parties for ratification. In addition, the Protocol authorized
the Conference to make recommendations on what additional
chemicals should be included on the list of substances needing
to be controlled and what schedule of reductions in production
and use should be applied. The Protocol made such additions
subject to ratification by two-thirds of the State Parties. The
Senate gave its advice and consent to the Protocol in March
1988; the President ratified the agreement on April 5, 1988.
The Protocol entered into force in early 1989; to date, it has
been ratified by 183 countries.
Since entry into force of the Protocol, several amendments
have been agreed to by the Conference of the Parties to the
Protocol. The amendments are cumulative, in that a nation may
not become a party to one without being party to the prior
amendments.
London Amendment. In 1990, the Conference of Parties to the
Protocol agreed to apply the Protocol to additional substances
believed to contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer and
to accelerate the phase-out of all of the identified
substances. The London Amendment added fully halogenated CFCs,
carbon tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform to the list of
substances needing to be controlled because of their effect on
the ozone layer (Annexes A and B); mandated the elimination of
the production and consumption of CFCs, halons, and carbon
tetrachloride by January 1, 2000, and of methyl chloroform by
January 1, 2005 (except for certain essential uses); barred
trade in these substances with countries that are not Parties
to the Protocol; created a separate timetable of reductions for
developing countries and established a special fund to help
developing countries meet their obligations. The Senate gave
its advice and consent to the Amendment in November 1991. The
London Amendment entered into force in 1992 and has now been
ratified by 163 countries.
Copenhagen Amendment. Another amendment to the Montreal
Protocol was agreed to at Copenhagen in 1992 after several
countries (including the United States) had unilaterally
decided to accelerate the phase-out of ozone-depleting
substances beyond what was mandated by the London Amendment.
The Copenhagen Amendment provided for phase-out of consumption
and production of CFCs (including fully halogenated CFCs),
methyl chloroform, and carbon tetrachloride by January 1, 1996,
and of halons by January 1, 1994. Hydrobromofluorocarbons
(HBFCs) and methyl bromide were also added to the controlled
substances list, with the former scheduled for developed-state
phase-out by January 1, 1996, and consumption and production of
the latter to be frozen at 1991 levels. Finally, HCFCs were
added to the controlled substances list and required to be
phased out gradually by 2030. The Senate gave its advice and
consent to the Copenhagen Amendment in November 1993. The
amendment entered into force in 1994 and has now been ratified
by 141 countries.
Vienna Accord. In 1995, the Conference of the Parties to
the Montreal Protocol agreed to phase out consumption of methyl
bromide in developed states by 2010. The Conference also made
modest adjustments in the phase-out schedule for HCFCs. These
changes (known as the Vienna Accord) were within the existing
authority of the Conference of the Parties under Article 2 of
the Protocol and did not need to be submitted to the Senate for
its advice and consent.
Montreal Amendment. The Montreal Amendment was negotiated
at a 1997 Conference of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol.
This amendment would include methyl bromide in the ban on trade
in controlled substances with countries that are not Parties to
the Montreal Protocol. As a means of helping to prevent
unlawful trade, it would also obligate all Parties to institute
a system of licensing for the import and export of all new,
used, recycled, and reclaimed controlled substances, including
methyl bromide.
Beijing Amendment. The Beijing Amendment was adopted in
Beijing on December 3, 1999, at a meeting of the Parties to the
Montreal Protocol. The amendment would add bromochloromethane
to the list of substances needing to be controlled and phase-
out its production and use by 2002; impose a freeze on the
consumption of HCFCs beginning in 2004; ban all trade of HCFCs
and bromochloromethane between Parties to the amendment and
non-Parties; and require each State Party to submit statistical
data on the amount of methyl bromide used for quarantine and
pre-shipment applications. The Beijing Amendment requires prior
or simultaneous ratification of the Montreal Amendment as a
precondition to its ratification.
III. Entry into Force
Both the Montreal Amendment and the Beijing Amendment have
entered into force, having attained the requisite 20
ratifications. The Montreal Amendment entered into force on
November 10, 1999, and to date has been ratified by 83
countries. The Beijing Amendment entered into force on February
25, 2002, and has so far been ratified by 36 countries.
If the United States ratifies the two treaties, they will
enter into force 90 days after the deposit of the instrument of
ratification.
IV. Committee Action and Comments
The Committee held a hearing to review the two treaties on
May 7, 2002 (S. Hrg. 107-594). On August 1, 2002, the Committee
ordered them favorably reported by unanimous voice votes, and
recommended that the Senate give its advice and consent to each
treaty.
One issue deserves mention. A prior adjustment to the
obligations regarding consumption of HCFCs provided for a
compliance grace period ending in 2016 for ``Article 5''
countries, that is, those countries considered by Article 5 of
the Montreal Protocol to be ``developing'' countries. That
adjustment also established the baseline year as 2015 for those
developing countries. The Beijing Amendment applies the same
rules to HCFC production.
While some limited grace period measured from the time of
signature of the amendment may be justified, the establishment
of a baseline period 15 years into the future is longer than
the decade-long grace periods established in the original
Protocol and the London amendment. Moreover, the grace periods
in the original Protocol and the London amendment included
limits on the baseline--either averages of production and
consumption in future years, or per capita limits. The
establishment of a baseline year far into the future without
any upper limits on the baseline consumption or production
opens the door to unwarranted increases in production and
consumption, which, if significant, would thereby undermine the
purpose of controlling the substances in question. The
Committee urges that this practice not be continued in
subsequent amendments to the Protocol.
V. Texts of Resolutions of Advice and Consent to Ratification
MONTREAL AMENDMENT
Resolved (two-thirds of the Senators present concurring
therein), That the Senate advise and consent to the
ratification of the Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on
Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, adopted at Montreal on
September 15-17, 1997, by the Ninth Meeting of the Parties to
the Montreal Protocol (Treaty Doc. 106-10).
BEIJING AMENDMENT
Resolved (two-thirds of the Senators present concurring
therein), That the Senate advise and consent to the
ratification of the Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on
Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, adopted at Beijing on
December 3, 1999, by the Eleventh Meeting of the Parties to the
Montreal Protocol (Treaty Doc. 106-32).