Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Hopes are high for the State Ministry for Environment to phase-out imports of ozone-depleting substances by this year as set in the Montreal Protocol.
It said as of August, imports of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) for the year had reached 193 metric tons, far lower than the 2,331 metric tons imported throughout 2006.
""We are aiming for zero imports of CFCs by this year-end. The importers have switched to purchasing ozone and eco-friendly substances such as HCFCs,"" Redny Tota, an official at the ministry's ozone protection unit said Friday.
HCFCs, or hydrochlorofluorocarbons, are a less ozone-depleting alternative to other gases.
Redny said the country had imported 861.57 metric tons of HCFCs as of August this year.
Indonesia is a signatory of the Montreal Protocol on Ozone Layer Protection obliging the country to stop imports of CFCs by 2007 and HCFCs by 2040.
As many as 191 governments will meet in Montreal from Sept. 17 to 21 to discuss ways to speed up freezing on production and phasing out HCFCs.
The meeting will coincide with World Ozone Day and the 20th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol on Sunday.
Redny said the office had phased out the use of 1,209 metric tons of the CFCs from several sectors last year.
""We froze the use of 12.5 metric tons of CFCs in refrigerator and air conditioning servicing this year. We are to eliminate it from the industrial sector by June 2008,"" she said.
Indonesia imports CFCs and HCFCs from India and China.
Redny said in order to accelerate the phasing out of CFC imports, the ministry had asked local administrations to monitor the trade of ozone-depleting substances in their respective areas.
The ministry earlier predicted that around 4,000 tons of CFCs were illegally traded every year.
Jakarta accounts for 60 percent of the total demand for CFCs in the country.
The United Nation's Environmental Program (UNEP) said Thursday curbing the chemicals that damage the ozone layer could help reduce far more greenhouse gases than the main UN plan for confronting climate change.
""If the governments accept accelerated action on eliminating HCFCs, we can look forward to not only a faster recovery of the ozone layer, but a further important contribution to the climate change challenge,"" Achim Steiner, head of UNEP, said as quoted by Reuters on Thursday in Montreal.
A new study indicates a cumulative 38 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) could be avoided in the coming decades if tight new curbs were imposed on HCFCs, the UNEP said.
The CO2 that results from the burning of fossil fuels is the main cause of global warming.
Depletion of the ozone layer could cause an increase in the number of people suffering from cataracts, skin cancers and weakened immune systems, as well as cause damage to marine ecosystems.
Data from the health ministry this year shows cataracts caused 50 percent of the cases of blindness in Indonesians.
