European Union Declares Support for Fast Action to Avert HFC Climate Threat

BANGKOK, Oct. 8 -- At today's climate change negotiations in Bangkok the EU
endorsed using the Montreal Protocol to phase down "super" greenhouse gases
called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The EU joins the U.S., Canada, Mexico,
Micronesia, Mauritius and other nations in seeking rapid action under the
Montreal Protocol to eliminate the acute threat to climate posed by HFCs.

Recent scientific evidence has shown that the explosive growth of HFCs,
primarily used in refrigeration and air conditioning, could negate
international efforts to halt climate change by cancelling out a large
proportion of needed reductions of other greenhouse gases. A phase down of
HFCs could prevent the equivalent of 3-5 years of total global greenhouse gas
emissions.

"The EU's action provides enormous momentum for amending the Montreal Protocol
to take rapid action to phase down HFCs -- clearly they have joined the
growing number of nations that view this as an essential part of the solution
to global warming," said Alexander von Bismarck, Executive Director of the
Environmental Investigation Agency. Von Bismarck added, "Agreement to take
action on HFCs sends a clear signal that the world can unite when it comes to
tackling climate change."

Primarily utilized as substitutes for ozone-depleting chemicals, HFCs --
although ozone friendly -- have global warming potentials hundreds to
thousands of times greater than CO2. The Montreal Protocol's historic success
in controlling and eliminating ozone depleting substances means that it
already has the infrastructure necessary to phase out HFCs quickly.

The EU's proposal recognises the key role the Montreal Protocol can fulfill in
achieving enormous reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by phasing down
HFCs. The Montreal Protocol is scheduled to meet in Port Ghalib, Egypt during
the first week of November and consider two proposals for allowing the
Montreal Protocol to initiate an HFC phase down -- one from North American
countries (United States, Canada and Mexico) and one from Micronesia,
Mauritius and a number of other island nations. Both proposals leave HFC
emissions in the "basket" of gases regulated by the UNFCCC, but allow the
Montreal Protocol to phase down production and use of HFCs.

"The Montreal Protocol has never failed and is the most successful
environmental accord in history," said Durwood Zaelke of the Institute for
Governance and Sustainable Development (IGSD). "It has already saved the
Earth's ozone layer and the EU has joined those who recognize that it's primed
and ready to play a critical role in helping to prevent catastrophic climate
change."

For more information contact:

Alexander von Bismarck, Environmental Investigation Agency +1-202-483-6621
Fionnuala Walravens, Environmental Investigation Agency +44-7939-035481
Alex Viets, Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development
+1-213-321-0911

Editor's notes
The Montreal Protocol has successfully phased out virtually all of the
production and use of 96 chemicals that deplete the ozone layer. With
ratification by all of the countries in the world the Montreal Protocol is
uniquely suited to phase down use of HFCs.

Institutions exist within the Montreal Protocol to finance the costs of the
phase down, build the required infrastructure and facilitate the technology
transfer necessary to ensure that all countries are able to meet their phase
down obligations.

SOURCE Environmental Investigation Agency

Alexander von Bismarck, +1-202-483-6621, or Fionnuala Walravens,
+44-7939-035481, both of Environmental Investigation Agency; or Alex Viets of
Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, +1-213-321-0911