ODS phase out poses no problem

JAKARTA (JP): Ninety percent of Indonesian industries would cease using ozone-depleting substances (ODS) by 1998, an official said here yesterday.

"Our campaign has proven effective because 50 percent of companies have shifted from using ODS substances to non-ODS substances," R.T.M. Sutamihardja, chairman of the technical team for protecting the ozone layer, said in a seminar on environmental protection.

Sutamihardja said about 50 percent of companies using ODS are either using alternative chemicals or have switched technologies. He estimated that 8,000 companies used ODS in 1992 compared with 3,000 today.

Using Chlorofuorocarbons (CFC), mostly for air-conditioning systems and cosmetics, would be phased out by the end of next year. The government also plans to stop the use of two other substances, trichloroethane and carbon tetrachloride, next year.

Indonesia ratified in 1992 a number of international agreements aimed at reducing the use of ODS. Following the 1992 issuance of a presidential decree on the matter, various parties, including businesses, agreed to phase out ODS by 1997.

At an international meeting in Copenhagen in 1992, developed nations agreed to reduce consumption, production and trading of CFC by 75 percent in 1994 and 100 percent in 1996.

Under the agreement, companies were required to replace ozone- destroying procedures with environmentally friendlier methods.

There is a 10-year period of grace for the continued use of Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) which are less detrimental to the ozone layer than CFC.

Although no solid sanction against ODS users has been drafted, Sutamihardja believes that market pressure is a good enough catalyst for businesses to comply with the requirement to replace ODS with environmentally friendlier substances.

"Industries which have shifted to CFC alternatives have been exempted from paying taxes," said Sutamihardja deputy assistant to the Minister of Environment.

Thomas Walton, a senior environmentalist from the World Bank said about 25 large companies and more than 50 medium and small enterprises in Indonesia have been granted assistance worth US$ 11 million.

The Multilateral Fund was founded in 1992, on contributions from a group of signatory countries to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, to support ODS-phase out activities in less-developed countries.

Geno Nardini a World Bank Aerosol Consultant said manufacturers relying on ODS should changing their methods of production now because the supply of CFC will dry up due to market pressure and its rocketing price.

"Environmentally-friendly alternative substances are cheaper than ODS," he said.

Importing CFC or products utilizing CFC will be allowed until the end of 1997. (14)