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Ozone Letter-Environment Committee
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120358938
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Ozone Letter-Environment Committee
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Records of the Council on Environmental Quality (Clinton Administration)
Kathleen McGinty's Files
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FOIA Number: 2012-0769-F
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the William J. Clinton
Presidential Library Staff.
Collection/Record Group:
Clinton Presidential Records
Subgroup/Office of Origin:
Council on Environmental Quality
Series/Staff Member:
Kathleen (Katie) McGinty
Subseries:
OA/ID Number:
2613
FolderID:
Folder Title:
Ozone Letter - Environment Committee
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
S
61
5
6
2
southern hemesphere large & in Octiber.
med (lake 1970's dramatic decrease in anterchi ozone.
barkex hurder of lade upproving 7/ warming
TOMS = safellike
measures and of purlight scathered back
Lolar eycle Morey 1 NO, county &
but not
Jon Nox
CIt₂ el = = a notice priver of d from pelans her on 0.7
springtime menimum purple oper / lawse 87 - 89 ph voja Dad
anterchea
Propere buyed on models Rust den & cocorporist
betwrigenens chemicas
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* giobal warmy potential I u/ & you depletion presential
BAR?
KM
TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
TROPOSPHERE - the first 10 - 12 km (6.2 - 7.5 miles) of the
atmosphere above the earth
STRATOSPHERE - the 2nd atmospheric layer extending to ~50 km
OZONE LAYER - ozone (O₃) is at a maximum at about 25 km (~ 15
miles). The ozone layer shields the earth from ultraviolet (uv)
radiation from the sun. (The ozone layer is a thin layer in the
stratosphere; if it were brought down to sea level, this layer
would be only 3 mm deep.) The column abundance of ozone is
typically ≥ 300 DU (DU - Dobson Unit; 1 DU = 2.6x10¹⁶
molecules/cm²)
OZONE DEPLETION - globally, this refers to a thinning of
stratospheric ozone (on the order of 1%)
OZONE HOLE - the severe depletion of the ozone layer occurring
seasonally (springtime) since the late 1970's over the Antarctic
(up to 50% of the ozone has been destroyed)
POLAR STRATOSPHERIC CLOUDS - clouds that occur in the
stratosphere over the poles due to very cold temperatures
RESERVOIR SPECIES - species that are not reactive;for example,
hydrogen chloride (HCI) and chlorine nitrate (CIONO₂) are
chlorine reservoir species - the chlorine is bound up in a form
that does not react with ozone
REACTIVE SPECIES - species that are reactive; for example,
chlorine atoms (CI) readily react with ozone
PHOTOCHEMICAL REACTION - a chemical reaction caused by
energy from the sun (light)
PHOTODISSOCIATION - the break-up of a molecule by energy from
the sun; for example, O₂ + hv => 0+0 ("hv" is the symbol for a
photon, a discrete unit of energy transmitted by electromagnetic
radiation.)
NEWS FROM
OF
THE
SEALOR
GREAT
AGRICULTURE
U.S. Senator Al Gore
7796
(D - Tennessee) SR 393 Russell Building, Washington, D.C. 20510 (202) 224-4944
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Marla Romash
WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 1990
202-224-7155
202-547-0806 (H)
GORE TO ADMINISTRATION:
DROP THE 'WHAT, ME WORRY?' ENVIRONMENT POLICY
Calls Administration Refusal to Back Int'l Plan Outrageous
WASHINGTON -- Calling the administration's refusal to
support an international plan to protect the earth's atmosphere
"shortsighted and just plain outrageous," Sen. Al Gore, D-TN,
today (5/9) said U.S. policy on these issues is becoming an
embarrassment and a serious obstacle to urgent actions critically
needed. Gore, chairman of the Interparliamentary Conference on the
Global Environment which concluded May 2, pointed to agreements
reached there among the 42 nations that participated.
"It's time for this Administration to drop its 'What, me
worry?' attitude toward the environment," Gore said. "It's time to
take off the sunglasses and the floppy hats, come out from under
the umbrella and stop hiding from an environmental problem we can
do something about."
"Their footdragging is becoming an embarrassment. It is
shortsighted and just plain outrageous," Gore said. "In country
after country, policy makers and scientists, and government
leaders recognize we need to take action now. In our country, the
Administration says, 'We'll worry about it tomorrow.' If we don't
act today, the problems we face tomorrow could be insurmountable."
Delegates to the Interparliamentary Conference on the
Global Environment, sponsored by the U.S. Senate, approved a
resolution calling for dramatic reductions in emissions of ozone-
depleting chemicals and greater protections for the stratospheric
ozone. Included among the recommendations were significant
improvements in the Montreal Protocol.
"Lawmakers from around the world are bringing back to
their governments the agreements we reached for stronger
protections and new action. Meanwhile, our government is sitting
on its hands with dead weights tied around its ankles. It just
doesn't make sense," Gore said.
NOTE: COPIES OF THE RESOLUTIONS ON OZONE DEPLETION AND CLIMATE
CHANGE APPROVED BY THE INTERPARLIAMENTARY CONFERENCE ARE ATTACHED.
THE CONFERENCE FOCUSED ON FIVE OTHER AREAS AS WELL, WITH
RESOLUTIONS APPROVED FOR EACH.
##
United States Senate
WASHINGTON. D.C. 20510
Wednesday, May 9, 1990
The President
The White House
Washington, D.C.
Dear Mr. President,
We are writing to request a meeting with you at the earliest
possible date to discuss your recent decision to oppose efforts to
strengthen the Montreal Protocol. We are deeply disappointed in your
decision and gravely concerned about its implications for the United
States and for all of the nations of the world. We strongly believe
this decision should be reversed immediately SO that the Geneva
negotiations may produce meaningful new agreements.
By refusing to support an international effort to help
developing nations move toward environmentally safe technologies, the
United States is threatening to undermine the Montreal Protocol, the
single most important international agreement to date to protect the
world's environment. At a time when the United States should be
providing leadership in the world community, it is instead being
isolated within a world community that recognizes an urgent problem
and the critical need for action.
We are concerned that advice from the Environmental Protection
Agency and the Department of State is being ignored and, in fact a
course opposite to their recommendations is being pursued by our
negotiators. It is unconscionable to us that U.S. negotiators would be
instructed to reject a provision calling for the industrialized
nations of the world to provide minimal sums for technology conversion
to developing nations who want to comply with the Protocol. Serious
questions remain about our policy in light of this action.
The negotiations underway in Geneva are critical to the massive
international effort to reduce emissions of ozone-depleting chemicals
-- an effort prompted by hard, scientific evidence that if we reduce
emissions of these chemicals we can protect the ozone layer
which shields all life on earth from dangerous ultraviolet radiation.
Page 2
May 9, 1990
Here in the U.S. Senate, we acted to strengthen our laws to reduce
the use and emissions of these chemicals: we called for the faster
phase-out of ozone-destroying chemicals, we called on the federal
government to develop a plan to promote the safest alternatives, and
we called for the immediate prohibition on the export of technologies
that produce these chemicals. We believe that U.S. companies could be
in a position to develop alternatives, and to lead the world to post-
CFC technologies. This would not only be a great benefit for the
environment, but also for U.S. competitiveness in world markets.
Immediate action is needed to change the direction of
Administration policy on these issues. We look forward to discussing
these matters with you further as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Al Dore
Claiborne Glain Pell
Ten
Al Gore
Bioen
Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
Patrit Alan Cranston
Leahy
Patrick J. Leahy
Frank R: Lautenberg
Jan John F. Kerry 7. Khy
Timothy E. Wirth
Claims
Brock Mddris
Joseph Lieberman Backus
Max Max Baucus
Bill Anadley
Bill Bradley
fil - Bone Hr. to Pres.
United States Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520
IN 13 1991
Dear Senator Chafee:
Your letter of April 24 concerning the Montreal Protocol,
cosigned by 29 of your Senate colleagues and addressed to
President Bush, has been referred to the State Department for
reply.
In your letter you propose a four-point plan to strengthen
the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone
Layer. Allow me to respond to these points individually:
-- First, you propose that the Protocol's reduction and
phaseout schedules be accelerated. The international
assessment process established by the Montreal Protocol
necessary for any further strengthening is now underway.
The U.S. has played and continues to play a leading role
in these assessments. Our experts currently chair the
science assessment panel of the Montreal Protocol, and
co-chair the technical assessment panel. These panels
will be issuing reports by late this year, in time for any
action by the Parties to the Protocol at their fourth
meeting in June, 1992. (Under the terms of the Protocol,
proposed amendments must be circulated at least six months
before consideration by a meeting of the Parties.) Of
course, the recent findings by Dr. Stolarski of NASA
regarding further depletion of the ozone layer will be
fully incorporated into this assessment process.
Domestically, U.S. industry is moving aggressively to
reduce its use of ozone-depleting substances: it reduced
CFC production by 23% beyond that required by the Protocol
during the first control period (July 1989 to June 1990),
and is well-positioned to exceed the subsequent phase-down
schedules called for in the Protocol.
-- Second, you mention the importance of recapture and
recycling to implementing the provisions of the Protocol.
This is also an issue that is being examined through the
Protocol's international assessment process.
Domestically, the Clean Air Act amendments of 1990 require
The Honorable
John H. Chafee,
United States Senate.
- 2 -
substantial new actions on recycling and emissions
reductions. The new law restricts the use, servicing and
disposal of CFCs and other controlled substances to the
"lowest achievable emissions level" and requires maximum
recapture and recycling within two years for CFCs, and
within four years for other chemicals. EPA is moving
forward aggressively to implement these provisions, and
the U.S. plans to urge all nations to adopt similar
national measures.
-- Third, you call for limits on the production and use of
HCFCs. We recognize that the second meeting of the
Parties at London last June left the question of these
"transitional substances" unresolved. As you know, the
United States favored a specified phaseout date for these
chemicals. The Clean Air Act amendments currently call
for reductions of HCFCs to begin in 2015 and phaseout by
2030. At the third meeting of the Parties in Nairobi next
month, we intend to pick up where we left off on this
issue, consistent with the dual goals of protecting the
ozone layer and providing industry with the appropriate
incentives to continue to produce these substitutes in the
near term in order to facilitate an early phaseout of CFCs.
-- Fourth, you mention the question of financial aid and
technical assistance to developing countries. The U.S.
fully agrees that this will be critical for effective
implementation of the Protocol. Indeed, this was the
motivation behind the establishment of an interim fund
last year in London. The fund, currently capitalized at
$160 million (this could rise to $240 million when India
and China ratify) for three years, is intended to enable
developing country Parties to the Protocol to comply with
their obligations under the treaty. The U.S. is the
largest voluntary contributor to the Fund, providing 25%
of the money. We have also been very active in the Fund's
Executive Committee, which oversees the Fund's
implementation and operation, providing expertise to
enable the Fund Secretariat to begin start-up operations.
Furthermore, we have an active bilateral program underway,
with activities in Mexico, Brazil, Egypt, China, Venezuela
and Ecuador.
The leadership of the United States has been a very
important part of the international effort to date in
protecting the ozone layer. We intend to continue that
tradition, pushing for ratification by countries such as China
- 3 -
and India, and calling for full implementation of the
Protocol's provisions as well as strengthening them, where
justified under the Protocol's reassessment process.
The Department welcomes your interest in protecting the
stratospheric ozone layer, and urges the Senate to consent to
ratification of the amendment and adjustments to the Montreal
Protocol adopted at London last June as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Janet G. Mullins
Assistant Secretary
Legislative Affairs
Enclosure:
Correspondence returned.
CC: The Honorable Dave Durenberger
The Honorable Richard G. Lugar
The Honorable James M. Jeffords
The Honorable Bob Packwood
The Honorable Slade Gorton
The Honorable Albert Gore, Jr.
The Honorable Harry Reid
The Honorable Joseph I. Lieberman
The Honorable Paul S. Sarbanes
The Honorable Herb Kohl
The Honorable Dale Bumpers
The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy
The Honorable Timothy E. Wirth
The Honorable Bill Bradley
The Honorable John F. Kerry
The Honorable Barbara A. Mikulski
The Honorable J. Robert Kerrey
The Honorable Robert W. Kasten, Jr.
The Honorable Terry Sanford
The Honorable George J. Mitchell
The Honorable Claiborne Pell
The Honorable Quentin N. Burdick
The Honorable Paul Wellstone
The Honorable Edward M. Kennedy
The Honorable William S. Cohen
The Honorable Thomas A. Daschle
The Honorable Richard Bryan
The Honorable Howard M. Metzenbaum
QUENTIN N. BURDICK, NORTH DAKOTA CHAIRMAN
file
DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN, NEW YORK
JOHN H CHAFEE. RHODE ISLAND
GEORGE J. MITCHELL MAINE
ALAN K. SIMPSON WYOMING
MAX BAUCUS. MONTANA
STEVE SYMMS, IDAHO
FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, NEW JERSEY
DAVE DURENBERGER, MINNESOTA
HARRY REID. NEVADA
JOHN W. WARNER, VIRGINIA
BOB GRAHAM FLORIDA
JAMES M. JEFFORDS VERMONT
JOSEPH 1. LIEBERMAN CONNECTICUT
ROBERT SMITH NEW HAMPSHIRE
United States Senate
HOWARD M. METZENBAUM OHIO
DAVID M. STRAUSS. STAFF DIRECTOR
STEVEN J. SHIMBERG. MINORITY STAFF DIRECTOR AND CHIEF COUNSEL
COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
WASHINGTON, DC 20510-6175
April 24, 1991
The Honorable George Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
We are writing to urge that you adopt a four point plan to
demonstrate United States leadership on the international
environmental problem of protecting the Earth's ozone layer. The
plan involves specific proposals to strengthen the Montreal
Protocol as soon as possible.
As you know, the current version of the Montreal Protocol as
modified by the June 1990 London agreement, requires that
industrialized nations implement: 1) a step-wise reduction in
production and consumption of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), leading
to a complete phase-out by the year 2000; 2) a step-wise
reduction in production and consumption of halons, leading to a
phaseout by the year 2000 (except for essential uses) and 3) a
step-wise reduction, leading to a phase-out of carbon
tetrachloride and methyl chloroform by the years 2000 and 2005,
respectively. Our four-point plan includes a number of
provisions to modify and strengthen the Protocol.
First, the interim phase-out schedules and the final phase-
out dates for all of the ozone depleting chemicals currently
covered by the Protocol should be accelerated. Simply moving the
final phase-out dates to the year 1997 is not sufficient. The
step-wise percentage reductions for the interim years should be
increased.
Second, recapture and recycling provisions should be added
to the Protocol. These will achieve significant reductions in
the emissions of CFCs, halons, carbon tetrachloride, methyl
chloroform, and substitute compounds, such as hydrochloro-
fluorocarbons (HCFCs), that are destroying the ozone layer or
that have the potential to contribute to global climate change.
The venting or releasing of any chemicals from refrigeration and
air-conditioning units into the atmosphere by date certain,
should also be prohibited with new provisions analogous to those
in the Clean Air Act.
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
The Honorable George Bush
4/24/91
Page 2
Third, while the current version of the Protocol will allow
unlimited production and use of other ozone depleting chemicals
such as HCFCs, a revised, strengthened Protocol should place
limits on the production and use of such chemicals. The limits
should be designed to discourage the production of HCFCs that
have relatively long atmospheric lifetimes, high ozone depletion
potentials, or high global warming potentials.
Finally, the Parties to the Protocol need to continue
financial aid and technical assistance to developing countries to
accelerate their participation and compliance with the terms of
the Montreal Protocol.
The ozone layer is under significant attack.
Scientists have already concluded that man-made chlorinated
and brominated chemicals are largely responsible for the
"Antarctic Ozone Hole" - the large decrease in stratospheric
ozone over Antarctica in springtime.
In 1989 scientists confirmed that the same ozone depleting
chlorine species found in the Antarctic are also present in the
Arctic stratosphere. Thus the Arctic is primed for an ozone
depletion event similar to that in Antarctica. Whether or not
any future Arctic ozone depletion occurs will depend on the
particular meteorology of each Arctic winter.
Most recently, NASA scientists have shown that ozone
depletion is not confined to the polar regions of the globe. In
fact, there has been a world-wide depletion of the protective
ozone column. Specifically, new data shows a significant
downward trend of three to five percent in the ozone column over
the past twelve years in the northern hemisphere. This actual,
measured decrease is larger by a factor of two to three than the
decreases predicted by current theoretical models.
The ozone layer cannot tolerate more abuse.
Thinning of the ozone layer allows more high energy
ultraviolet radiation to strike the earth's surface, increasing
the incidence of skin cancers and cataracts, and potentially
suppressing the immune system. Increased ultraviolet radiation
has also been shown to damage crops and marine resources.
The Honorable George Bush
4/24/91
Page 3
The new ozone losses measured by NASA raise serious
questions about the adequacy of the control measures set forth in
the Montreal Protocol to protect public health and the
environment. For these reasons, we urge you to place the United
States in a position of world leadership and to adopt our four-
point plan for strengthening the Montreal Protocol.
We look forward to working with you on this important issue.
Sincerely,
ohm
H.
Dave Durènberger cheque Harrymkeid
Max Max Baucus Backue
John
H.
Chafee
Richard
BobPeckurod Hub Kohl
James Jim M. Jefforch Jeffords
Paul & Joseph Sarban I. Lieberman
Paul S. Sarbanes
Bob Packwood
Herb Kohl
shade Jahn Dale Bunger
Slade ae Done Gorto
Dale Bumpers
Patnet Leahy
Albert Gore, Jr.
Patrick J. Leahy
The Honorable George Bush
4/24/91
Page 4
Jim Wuth
ClairPs Claiborne Pell
Timothy E. Wirth
You Bin John Bill Badly 1. F. Bradley Kerry Very
Line Braic
Quentin N. Burdick
Paul Willston
Paul Wellstone
Bahna Barbara A. Mikulski Sdreet the Kennely
Edward M. Kennedy
THE J. Robert Verrey Kerrey
RiceR
William S. Cohen
Rh Robert W. KAND Kasten, Jr. Thomas Daschle
Tern Penford Terry Sunford
Richard Bryan
groge Mitchell
George J. Mitchell
Howard M. Metzenbaum
from rom wire 6/19
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LEVEL 2 - 1 OF 1 STORY
Copyright (c) 1991 The Financial Times Limited;
Financial Times
June 19, 1991, Wednesday
SECTION: SECTION 1; Back Page; Pg. 22
ENGTH: 438 words
IEADLINE: Ozone hole expert warns of CFC substitutes risk
YLINE: WILLIAM DULLFORCE and CLIVE COOKSON, GENEVA, LONDON
BODY:
SURSTITUTES
Mr Joe Farman, the British atmospheric physicist, described the leading
substitutes for ozone-destroying CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) as powerful
reenhouse gases'. If industry was allowed to release large quantities of the
NEW chemicals --- HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons) and HFCs (hydrofluorogarbons)
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(c) 1991 Financial Times, June 19, 1991
the potential benefits from phasing out CFCs could vanish.
The chemicals industry has spent hundreds of millions of pounds developing
CFC substitutes. Du Pont of the US, the largest CFC manufacturer, puts its
investment at Dollars 250m (Pounds 155m) and talks of spending more than Dollars
.bn over the next 10 years. Chemical companies say that if they are not allowed
.0 produce HCFCs and HFCs for long enough to make a return on their investment,
isers will face a severe crisis when CFC manufacturing stops in the late
1990s, in accordance with the Montreal Protocol. The refrigeration industry is
nost vulnerable.
Mr Farman's discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole in 1986 gave a powerful
impetus to the Montreal agreement to phase out CFCs. He was speaking yesterday
Geneva, where government officials are meeting to start drafting a similar
international convention on climate change, aimed at limiting global warming.
Mr. Farman, who retired from the British Antarctic Survey last year, said
the chemical industry seriously underestimated the environmental impact of CFC
substitutes when it claimed that they would add only 1 per cent to man-made
global warming in coming decades.
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(c) 1991 Financial Times, June 19, 1991
Mi- Mack McFarland, Du Pont's environmental science co-ordinator, rejected Mr.
Farmant arguments - which are similar to those of pressure groups such as
Friends of the Earth to press for restrictions on HCFCs and HFCs.
You have to look at the big picture when judging what are the best
alternatives to CFCs, he said. 'That means looking at their environmental
impact (including ozone depletion and global warming impact), toxicity and
flammability.
Preliminary findings from the Alternative Fluorocarbons Environmental
Acceptability Study (AFEAS), funded by the international chemical industry, were
released this week Studies by Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the US show that
'replacement of CFCs with suitable HCFCs or HFCs can yield a dramatic benefit
in reducing the total global warming impact for all CFC end-use applications.
AFEAS is part of the chemical industry's increasingly vocal lobbying effort.
Business and Environment, Page 19
GRAPHIC: Picture, Joe Farman, discovered Antarctic ozone hole in 1986
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