International Ozone Day celebrated UNIVERSAL PARTICIPATION – OZONE PROTECTION UNIFIES THE WORLD
	16:33 IST

The 15th International Ozone Day was celebrated on 16 September 2009 at the FICCI Golden Jubilee Auditorium in New Delhi to commemorate the signing of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The theme for this year was “Universal participation – Ozone protection unifies the World”. Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Environment & Forests was the Chief Guest on this occasion. Speaking on the occasion Shri Ramesh said that India was one of the first developing countries to join the Montreal Protocol and pledge its commitment to protect the Ozone Layer. As a part of the accelerated phase-out of CFCs, India has completely phased out the production and consumption of CFCs as on 1 August 2008, 17 months prior to the agreed schedule. The Minister said that the Montreal Protocol has been hailed as one the most successful examples of an international environmental treaty. With Timor-Leste becoming the 196th state to ratify it, it has become the first treaty to ever achieve universal participation. At a time when the world is trying to solve the problem of climate change, the International Ozone Day provided a timely reminder of how international cooperation can help to solve major global environmental problems. Shri Ramesh informed that over 97% of controlled Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) have been phased out by the Montreal Protocol. The end of 2009 will mark another significant milestone in the history of its implementation, with the use of potent ODSs –CFCs, Carbon Tetra Chloride(CTC) and Halons, except pharmaceutical-grade CFCs used in the manufacture of Metered Dose Inhalers (MDIs) – being ceased completely. While CFCs required for manufacturing for MDIs used by Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients are still available in India, a national transition strategy to phase them out by 2013 is currently under implementation. A comprehensive Road Map and Action Plan to phase-out of production and consumption of HCFCs in various sectors in India has also been developed. The Government of India has also taken a number of policy measures, fiscal and regulatory, to encourage the early adoption of alternative technologies in this area by existing and new enterprises, the Minister said. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), with support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the World Bank recently also launched the India: Chiller Energy Efficiency Project to accelerate the conversion of CFC-based chillers using new, more energy efficient technologies. Given that the project aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously supporting the phase-out of consumption of ODSs, it is a good example of how the implementation of the Montreal Protocol can contribute towards addressing global warming. A number of competitions had also been organized for children on 4 September 2009 to mark this occasion. Prizes to the winners of these competitions were presented by the Hon. Minister. The 11th Edition of the “Montreal Protocol: India’s Success Story” describing India’s activities under the Protocol was also released on this occasion. The Madini Puraskar for the year 2008 were also awarded by the Hon’ble Minister to six Writers of Books in Hindi on environment and related subjects. ****** VLK/ska