Wednesday, March 4 2020 12:50

ArmInfo. In Armenia, it will be prohibited to produce substances that contribute to the  destruction of the ozone layer. The National Assembly of the Republic  of Armenia at the meeting on March 4 in the second and final reading  amended the law "On Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer" and  related laws.

According to Deputy Minister of the Environment Irina Kaplanyan, the  import of ozone-depleting materials will be banned from those  countries who have not signed the relevant Montreal and Vienna  Conventions.  The export of such materials will also be banned in  these countries, and the transit of ozone-depleting substances  through the territory of Armenia will also be banned. "This  legislative package, in fact, regulates the restrictions on the  production, import, export and transit of ozone-depleting  substances," Kaplanyan explained, adding that the package provides  for liability for failure to comply with the requirements of the  package of laws. The Deputy Minister recalled that on March 27 last  year, Armenia ratified the amended agreement to the Montreal Protocol  on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. 

The agreement was signed in the capital of Rwanda, Kigali, on October  15, 2016, and the package submitted is fully consistent with the  specified international documents. Recall that in March last year,  the deputy minister noted that since 1990, Armenia has chosen the  path to maintain the ozone layer and reduce emissions of harmful  substances into the atmosphere. This path is due not only to the  high-mountainous nature of the republic, which leads to increased  ultraviolet rays, but also to those global challenges that mankind  has faced in connection with climate change. In 2010, the republic  fully complied with its obligations under the first phase of the  program, under which emissions of fluorine and chlorine hydrocarbons  were significantly reduced. At present, Irina Kaplanyan continued,  the second stage of the program continues, under which it is planned  to completely abandon the use of hydrofluorocarbons.  Moreover, the  second phase of the program is being implemented at a faster pace.  Irina Kapalanyan emphasized that the agreement signed by 197  countries of the world in Kigali is the fifth in a row under the  Montreal Protocol. It is envisaged that as a result of its  application in the world, emissions of 105 million tons of harmful  substances will be reduced. It is planned that by 2100 the  temperature of the air in the world will drop by 0.4%. For Armenia,  which is a developing state, the deadlines for implementing the  provisions of the document are also set: by 2014, the republic should  reduce emissions by 10%, by 2035 by 30%, by 2040 by 50% and by 2045  by 80%. Recall that in the capital of Rwanda, Kigali, representatives  of 197 states that signed the Montreal Protocol on Substances that  Deplete the Ozone Layer agreed to limit the production and emissions  of greenhouse gases, in particular hydrofluorocarbons. Used mainly in  refrigeration equipment and air conditioners, these gases are much  more dangerous for the ozone layer of the earth than the same carbon  dioxide. The first in 2019 to introduce restrictions is the United  States - the second largest state in the world in terms of emissions  of pollutants into the atmosphere. From 2024, China, the leader in  the pollution of the planet, will begin to take measures. Countries  hope they can reduce global warming by half a degree Celsius.

The deal, which involves the two largest economies in the world - the  United States and China, divides the countries into three groups with  different terms, during which they should reduce the use of  hydrofluorocarbons, the greenhouse effect of which is 10 thousand  times stronger than that of carbon dioxide. Under the agreement,  developed countries, including a large part of Europe and the United  States, commit themselves to gradually reduce the use of  hydrofluorocarbons, starting from a 10 percent decline by 2019, and  by 85% by 2036. Two more groups of developed countries will stop  increasing the use of hydrofluorocarbons by 2024 and 2028, and then  will gradually reduce it. The deal, which was joined by 197  countries, crowned a series of measures aimed at combating climate  change. In early October, the Paris Climate Agreement, concluded in  2015, crossed the important threshold of ratification thanks to  support from India, Canada and the European Parliament.