August 3, 1998
Europe Proposes to Ban Methyl Bromide in 2001
The European Commission has approved a proposal to ban use
and production of the toxic, ozone-depleting pesticide methyl
bromide by 2001, bringing Europe in line with the U.S.
phaseout date. This is earlier than is required under the
Montreal Protocol, an international agreement to phase out
the pesticide by 2005 in developed countries and 2015 in
developing countries. The proposals, which will form part of
a new European Union regulation on ozone depleting
substances, must now also be approved by member states of the
European Parliament.
"Since the U.S. and Europe are the major users of methyl
bromide, this ground-breaking proposal means that much of the
worldwide use of this toxic pesticide will end in less than
three years," said Anne Schonfield, Program Coordinator with
Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA). "With this
extremely important European action, the U.S. now has no
reason to delay its 2001 ban, since many of its European
competitors will end their use of methyl bromide at the same
time. Hopefully, the Clinton Administration and the U.S.
Congress will hear this critical message from Europe, and
won't change the U.S. ban in 2001."
The European Commission stated that the Montreal Protocol
continues to be a successful international agreement, but
that based on recent data the ozone layer is still severely
depleted. An ozone hole appears each year over Antarctica and
ozone losses of up to 40% have been observed over northern
Europe during recent winters. Ozone depletion leads to
increased ultra-violet radiation which causes skin cancers,
cataracts, reduces growth of crops and harms both aquatic and
terrestrial ecosystems.
In approving the proposal to speed up methyl bromide's
phaseout, the Commission acknowledged that the pesticide "can
now be replaced by different alternatives in almost all its
applications." In 1995, a study done for the Montreal
Protocol found that technically feasible alternatives exist
for more than 90% of methyl bromide uses; a recent study by
the German Society for Technical Aid (GTZ) reported similar
findings. However, since the Commission believes there is a
need for further demonstration of some of the alternatives,
the proposed regulation provides a temporary exemption for
"critical uses" of methyl bromide.
The UK National Farmers' Union (NFU) has condemned the
proposal, charging that the horticultural industry will
suffer and that there is "no legitimate reason" to phase out
methyl bromide ahead of the Montreal Protocol deadline. It
says that the shorter period is inadequate to complete
current research programs investigating alternatives or to
put research results into practice. Sustainable agriculture
organizations in Europe, however, support the proposal and
are urging their governments to support the 2001 ban in the
European Parliament.
The methyl bromide industry and its supporters in the U.S.
are using arguments similar to the NFU's to pressure
government officials to push back the U.S. deadline from 2001
to 2005. U.S. industry groups are supporting legislation that
would delay the phaseout of methyl bromide until all parties
of the Montreal Protocol (including developing nations) have
agreed to and enacted the same phase-out date.
Sources: European Union press release, July 1, 1998; Agrow:
World Crop Protection News, May 29, June 26 and July 10,
1998.
Contacts: PANNA.
For information about the GTZ report, visit the GTZ web site:
www.gtz.de.
======================================================
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Fax (415) 981-1991
Email: panna@panna.org
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