[Senate Executive Report 107-10]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



107th Congress                                               Exec. Rpt.
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                      107-10

======================================================================



 
   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).

                                  
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