| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立中正大學 === 法律學研究所 === 93 === The ozone layer, which is an indispensable protective screen to all the life on the earth, is currently being depleted and therefore unable to prevent most of the UV-B rays from irradiating the earth, which in turn depletes living cells and leads to gene mutation. According to many scientific studies, the ozone depletion continues generating the increasing UV-B irradiation and therefore produces health and environmental effects including increased rates of skin cancer and eye cataracts; changes in the immune system; damage to crops; and decreases in phytoplankton in the marine food chain. Further, a continent-sized “ozone hole” over the Southern hemisphere is a serious sign of ozone depletion.
The main cause of ozone depletion has proven to be Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which were previously viewed as a nontoxic, safe and ideal chemical for several decades. CFCs were commonly used in air conditioners, refrigerators, foams, solvents and other CFC-related products. Other ozone depleting substances which are believed to be destroying the stratospheric ozone include Halons, Hydrochlorocarbons (HCFCs), Carbontetrachloride, Methylchloroform, Hydrobromofluorocarbons (HBFCs) and Methylbromide. Some of them, such as CFCs, Halons and HCFCs can also contribute to global warming.
Because of the extensive utilization and stability of ozone depleting substances, the accumulative emissions amount to a significant quantity. They rise into the stratosphere, decompose and produce Cl atoms which react with ozone and make it disappear. The decrease in stratospheric ozone concentration severely reduces the protective effectiveness.
On the basis of the common consensus that ozone depleting substances indeed destruct the ozone layer, the United Nations Environment Program gathered many countries to discuss possible countermeasures. In 1985, there were 28 countries cooperatively signing the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (Vienna Convention).
At the same time, they decided to negotiate for the establishment of an international regulating protocol. Successfully, Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal Protocol) was signed by 26 countries to implement the regulation of the manufacture and use of the ozone depleting substances. Up to the present, the parties of the Vienna Convention aggregate 189 countries, and 188 countries ratified Montreal Protocol. Thus it can be seen that the agreement to protect the ozone has spread to most countries.
Montreal Protocol has gradually evolved into a model of the international environmental treaties. However, Taiwan, a non-party, is still willing to take the collective responsibility of protecting the earth. The Department of Health, Executive Yuan of Taiwan declared the prohibition of the use of CFCs in propellants for aerosol cosmetic sprays in May 1983. The Ad Hoc Committee for the Strategy of the Ozone Layer and Global Warming was established under the Ministry of Economic Affairs on April 1992. Since then, the Industrial Technology Research Institute started to participate in the Meetings of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol and working with NGO for the sake of implementing the regulations of the Montreal Protocol and avoiding severe trade sanctions.
In order to improve Taiwanese people’s comprehension of the international ozone protection trend, this thesis interprets the related principles, legal structures and practical problems of the international ozone régime in depth. I hope that my findings will arouse considerable public attention and in doing so that Taiwan will unceasingly endeavor to join the international community in this difficult diplomatic area.
Therefore, we have to understand the latest universal trend so as to comply with all of the international regulations and to enjoy all of the international rights. Further, the ozone régime, a model of the international environmental régime, has indeed promoted the development of international law and international environmental law to make protection of the environment fully practiced.
The main research method is “documentary analysis” methodology on the basis of the reading, analysis and comparison of the related Chinese and English books, theses and articles. The ozone depleting problem is the background first illustrated. The second part contains related international environmental fundamental principles and rules. The third part pertains to the legal structure of the régime and further clarifies the creative implementing mechanism. The fifth part treats the financial mechanism which chiefly assists developing countries. Finally, the thesis is concluded with the existing problem and my expectation for the more complete universal protection of the stratospheric ozone layer.
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