ODS phase out poses no problem<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Ninety percent of Indonesian industries would
\ncease using ozone-depleting substances (ODS) by 1998, an official
\nsaid here yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"Our campaign has proven effective because 50 percent of
\ncompanies have shifted from using ODS substances to non-ODS
\nsubstances,\" R.T.M. Sutamihardja, chairman of the technical team
\nfor protecting the ozone layer, said in a seminar on
\nenvironmental protection.<\/p>\n
Sutamihardja said about 50 percent of companies using ODS are
\neither using alternative chemicals or have switched technologies.
\nHe estimated that 8,000 companies used ODS in 1992 compared with
\n3,000 today.<\/p>\n
Using Chlorofuorocarbons (CFC), mostly for air-conditioning
\nsystems and cosmetics, would be phased out by the end of next
\nyear. The government also plans to stop the use of two other
\nsubstances, trichloroethane and carbon tetrachloride, next year.<\/p>\n
Indonesia ratified in 1992 a number of international
\nagreements aimed at reducing the use of ODS. Following the 1992
\nissuance of a presidential decree on the matter, various parties,
\nincluding businesses, agreed to phase out ODS by 1997.<\/p>\n
At an international meeting in Copenhagen in 1992, developed
\nnations agreed to reduce consumption, production and trading of
\nCFC by 75 percent in 1994 and 100 percent in 1996.<\/p>\n
Under the agreement, companies were required to replace ozone-
\ndestroying procedures with environmentally friendlier methods.<\/p>\n
There is a 10-year period of grace for the continued use of
\nHydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) which are less detrimental to the
\nozone layer than CFC.<\/p>\n
Although no solid sanction against ODS users has been drafted,
\nSutamihardja believes that market pressure is a good enough
\ncatalyst for businesses to comply with the requirement to replace
\nODS with environmentally friendlier substances.<\/p>\n
\"Industries which have shifted to CFC alternatives have been
\nexempted from paying taxes,\" said Sutamihardja deputy assistant
\nto the Minister of Environment.<\/p>\n
Thomas Walton, a senior environmentalist from the World Bank
\nsaid about 25 large companies and more than 50 medium and small
\nenterprises in Indonesia have been granted assistance worth US$
\n11 million.<\/p>\n
The Multilateral Fund was founded in 1992, on contributions
\nfrom a group of signatory countries to the Montreal Protocol on
\nSubstances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, to support ODS-phase out
\nactivities in less-developed countries.<\/p>\n
Geno Nardini a World Bank Aerosol Consultant said
\nmanufacturers relying on ODS should changing their methods of
\nproduction now because the supply of CFC will dry up due to
\nmarket pressure and its rocketing price.<\/p>\n
\"Environmentally-friendly alternative substances are cheaper
\nthan ODS,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Importing CFC or products utilizing CFC will be allowed until
\nthe end of 1997. (14)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ods-phase-out-poses-no-problem-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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