The Ozone Layer Protection (Products Containing Scheduled Substances) (Import Banning) (Amendment) Regulation enabling Hong Kong to comply with the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer's new requirements will come into effect January 1.

According to the agreement made in September 2007, parties have to accelerate the phasing out of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) to curtail its consumption by 75% of the baseline level by 2010 instead of 65% and to complete the phase-out by 2020 instead of 2030.

The Environmental Protection Department said the import of products, including air-conditioners containing HCFC-22, will be banned in phases from January 1 to meet the accelerated phasing-out schedule. The use of existing products, however, will not be affected.

The ban will encourage a switch to more environmentally friendly air-conditioners, like those operating with refrigerant R-410A and R-134A, which are readily available on the market.

The amendment regulation also extends the ban of the import of aerosol products to those containing a pharmaceutical product or medicine, such as metered-dosed inhalers containing chlorofluorocarbons.

The import of fire extinguishers with ozone-depleting substances like HCFCs and bromochloromethane will also be banned. All the affected products have alternatives which do not contain ozone-depleting substances.

The amendment also extends the ban on the import of products containing ozone-depleting substances to all countries to prevent Hong Kong becoming a dumping ground for these products.

The amendment regulation was passed by the Legislative Council December 2 and published in the gazette today.