The Bahamas is internationally obligated to introduce legislative measures to reduce the import and use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that deplete the ozone layer by a specific deadline.
Signed under the former administration, the 1987 Montreal Protocol ratified by more than 170 countries, including 13 Caribbean nations in 1999, required that “damaging CFCs, known as R-11, R-12, R-22, and R-115” (with R-12 considered the most damaging of the four), be phased out of production and use in developing states by 2010.
Signatory countries pledged to decrease the import of those CFCs, to 50 per cent of 1999 levels by 2005.
In October, the United Nations Environment Programme listed The Bahamas among seven other countries that are “falling behind” in decreasing the import and use of CFCs and, as a consequence, faced trade sanctions. Ambassador for the Environment Keod Smith, following an emergency meeting with the group, presented proof to the U.N. that some strides have been made.
However, the second reading of the Montreal Protocol Bill and other related matters is the biggest stride the government has taken yet.
Minister of Labour and Immigration Vincent Peet in the House of Assembly Wednesday highlighted clauses of the bill.
“It also requires [people] who service appliances (i.e. refrigerators, air conditioners, chemical sprays) or vehicles that contain or may contain a controlled substance to be certified and approved by the director or have participated in one of the United Nations Environmental Programme workshops or a refrigeration course at BTVI (the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute),” Mr Peet noted.
Companies without a recovery and recycling centre will have access to the one presently at BTVI for a fee, which range from $75 – $420.
Considering that non-compliance will lead to penalties, Mr Peet said by reading the bill it gives people who may be affected time to prepare.
The Ministry of Health and Environmental Services’ Parliamentary Secretary Ron Pinder said the Bill proves that “The Bahamas is doing its part to facilitate the objective of the Montreal Protocol, which is to encourage the use of alternative substances, and methods that are more ozone-friendly.”
Increased exposure to the sun’s rays caused by depletion of the ozone layer can lead to skin cancer, eye problems, and also harm plants and animals, Mr Pinder said.
To prove his point, Mr Pinder held up two chemical spray cans, which, according to him, advised its consumers that using the product can cause harm to the environment and their health.
The Protocol’s executive committee allotted $560,000 to The Bahamas to launch a project to phase out CFCs by 2008, but, as Mr Pinder pointed out, it cannot happen without the necessary legislation.
He outlined the economic benefits of such legislation, including avoiding trade sanctions, benefiting from low-costing ozone-friendly products and reducing health risks.
“No country lives, operates or exists in a vacuum,” Mr Pinder said, adding, “We live therefore, in an era of greater interdependency, and equally as countries of the world cooperate and depend on one another to facilitate free trade and commerce, or to advance the principles of democracy and the nation sustainable development, or to defeat the evil forces of terrorism, equally countries must cooperate and depend on one another to ensure a clean, healthy and safe environment.”
By Khashan Poitier, The Nassau Guardian
