IssueX

POSTINGS FROM PRAGUE

Well the fat lady finally sang at Prague (at 11 pm on Friday night), but I don’t think that anyone present would call the result an aria. The Critical Use Exemptions process continues to be a point of major controversy. The U.S. delegation stated during the plenary that MBTOC was in fact making “policy decisions” and applying arbitrary reductions to the Critical Use Nominations rather then conducting the required “technical reviews”. Yet in spite of all the complaining about the process, at the end of the day, the Parties adopted the EC-favored recommendations of MBTOC.

However we must look on the bright side; in spite of the campaign of mis-information and half-truths by NRDC and other groups, the EC unilateral position of “ban methyl bromide” at all costs, and continued pressure from other commercial interests the Parties still approved production of 27% of baseline as a CUE for 2006, with the possibility (albeit slim) of increasing to 37% at the Extraordinary Meeting in Montreal in July of 2005. In addition, all the supplemental applications for 2005 were approved so the final 2005 CUE is actually about 37% of baseline (30% new production, 7% from existing stocks).

So we live to fight another day; we must press on and not quit. A big part of the strategy by those opposed to methyl bromide is to wear down its supporters by a constant barrage of questions about nearly every aspect of the US Critical Use Nominations, despite the fact that the US nominations are the most complete and robust of any We must remain determined to continue to defend what is clearly authorized by the Montreal Protocol and what is right for the U.S. end-user community.

We look forward to seeing you in Montreal in July; thank-you for your continued support.

Here is a recap of all the methyl bromide decisions which were reached at this meeting.

Critical Use Exemptions for 2005 and 2006. The Parties adopted CUEs for 2005 and 2006. For the US, 2005 CUEs total 37.4% of baseline, with production at 30% of baseline and the remainder from stocks. For 2006, production at 27% of baseline was approved, with CUEs totaling 8.6% of baseline to be considered at an Extraordinary meeting of the Parties to be held this summer in Montreal. The decision did not specify how much of this quantity should come from existing stocks implying that the full amount could come from new production. A table showing the amounts approved for 2005 and 2006 by application is attached.

Multi-year CUE process. The US has proposed that rules be established to permit CUEs to be granted for 2-3 years at a time, conserving resources for applicants, governments, MBTOC and the Parties. The Parties agreed to keep the proposal in play by requiring consideration of a framework at the 17^th Meeting of the Parties. Any proposal adopted by the Parties is not likely to offer much help to the US. However the issue is still “in play”

Article 5 Accelerated Phase-Out. Despite being strongly opposed by Article 5 nations at the OEWG and absent from the agenda for this meeting, the European Union again proposed that the methyl bromide phase-out be accelerated for Article 5 nations. Again, opposition from Article 5 nations was strong, and no decision was adopted. It will be brought up again at the OEWG this summer. Someone needs to initiate a “three strikes and you are out rule”.

Recommendations of the ad hoc working group on MBTOC Revitalization. This group met for 3 days prior to the OEWG, and again for 2 days prior to this meeting and presented a draft decision that establishes working procedures for MBTOC, sets dates for submission of CUE nominations, establishes criteria for MBTOC membership, and provides further guidance on evaluation of CUNs. The proposal was adopted, and may result in restructuring of MBTOC to favor A(5) nations, and in more stringent evaluation of CUNs.

CUE Reporting and Revision of the CUE Handbook. The draft Handbook presented at the meeting was not adopted, but will be considered a the 25^th OEWG. The parties did adopt rules for reporting CUE data, including CUE inventory carried forward each year.

Survey of QPS Uses. Many nations had complained about the detail requested in the QPS survey that was distributed in the spring, saying that they did not have the information that was requested and that completion of the 25 page form took too long. Nevertheless, delegates agreed to continue to respond to the survey and complete it to the extent possible. Nations were requested to submit as much information as possible by March 31, 2005. A task group was established to review the information and report to the 25^th OEWG. This information will undoubtedly be used to try to control QPS uses in the future.

Trade in products treated with methyl bromide. Kenya had proposed a decision not to restrict trade in products simply because they had been treated or produced using methyl bromide. A greatly watered down version of this was finally adopted. It is unlikely to prevent nations that want to prohibit the importation of products treated with methyl bromide from so doing. However this does set a precedent and the issue is also still “in play”.

Other Issues. Many other minor issues (new co-chairs for the OEWG and MBTOC, changes in baseline numbers for some Article 5 nations, citations of non-compliance for Chile and Fiji) were considered. One of the highlights of the meeting was adoption of a proposal by Venezuela to declare 2007 “The International Year of the Ozone Layer.”

Overall, the US and its partners (Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and sometimes Japan) were able to stop or delay some of the more extreme proposals from Europe, but these issues are sure to come up again, since the EC has shown its willingness to keep bringing up the same things again and again, just to wear down the resolve.

Summary of Critical Use Exemptions for Methyl Bromide

One of the primary and most contentious issues at the 16^th MOP was the consideration of Critical Use Exemptions for calendar years 2005 and 2006. A decision on this issue was not reached until late on the last day of the meeting, and even then, part of the decision was kicked down the road to another Extraordinary Meeting of the Parties to be held in conjunction with the Open Ended Working Group Meeting this July in Montreal.

The amount of CUE approved by the Parties for 2005 and 2006 are summarized in the table below and shown in detail on the next page.

	2005			2006
	Metric Tons	Thousands of Pounds	Percent of Baseline	Metric Tons	Thousands of Pounds	Percent of Baseline
Nominated by EPA	10,767.14	23,737.24	42.2%	9,397.86	20,718.52	36.8%
Approved by MOP
Production	7,659.00	16,885.03	30.0%	6,897.68	15,200.85	27.0%
From Stocks	1,893.88	4,175.25	7.4%
Total	9,552.88	21,060.28	37.4%	6,897.68	15,200.85	27.0%
To be considered				2,194.58	4,838.18	8.6%

Subject to the EPA’s final CUE rule due to be published by the end of this year, in 2005 the total amount of US CUEs will be just over 21 million pounds, with 16.9 million from new production, and the remainder from existing stocks. For 2006, the Parties approved 15.2 million pounds of CUEs for the US, all from new production. An additional 4.8 million pounds will be considered by the Parties in July, with most, if not all of any additional approved amount likely to come from existing stocks.

CUE Nominations and Approval, 2005 and 2006

All quantities metric tons	2005					2006
Industry	Nomination	EMOP Approved	Supplemental, October 2004	Approved, 16th MOP	Total Approved for 2005	Nomination	TEAP Recommended, October 2004	Approved, 16th MOP	Provisional Approval, 16th MOP	2006 Possible Total
Chrysanthemum cuttings - rose plants (nursery)	29.41	29.41	0.00		29.41	0.00	0.00			0.00
Cucurbits - field	1187.80	1187.80	0.00		1187.80	747.84	747.84	747.84		747.84
Dried fruit and nuts	2.41	0.00	2.41	2.41	2.41	82.92	80.65	80.65		80.65
Dried fruit, beans & nuts	86.75	86.75