Governments promise to join forces to stamp out use of banned pollutant following discovery of underground use in China
Governments have promised further action to ensure the use of ozone-destroying chemicals is halted, following discoveries by scientists over the summer that plastic foam factories in China were flouting international rules and using banned substances.
An investigation by scientists published in July revealed trichlorofluoromethane or CFC-11 - which has been banned around the world since 2010 and is a potent destroyer of the ozone layer - was being widely used at some Chinese manufacturing plants.
The practice was only discovered after the scientists noticed a sudden surge in CFC-11 emissions in recent years and tracked the source down to a cluster of factories in China. Investigators at the time claimed to be "dumbfounded" by what they described as factory owners' "blasé" attitude towards its use.
Last week governments gathered under the Montreal Protocol to discuss the problem, and jointly agreed to take further measures to ensure the ban on CFC-11 is enforced and alert the Ozone Secretariat as soon as any breach in the rules is detected.
Countries also agreed to consider stepping up monitoring and enforcement systems under the Protocol.
In the meeting, China outlined the steps it is taking to crack down on the use of CFC-11 - describing how it has seized 30 tonnes of the material during raids on factories over the summer.
But some campaigners remain concerned that many factories using CFC-11 operate under the radar of Chinese authorities, and will therefore escape the crackdown.
The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), which investigated illegal production and use of CFC-11 in China over the summer, said China deserved praise for its swift action, but warned better monitoring and enforcement will be crucial to eliminating CFC-11.
"China is to be commended for taking immediate action to uncover and address illegal CFC-11 production and use and the Parties to the Montreal Protocol have demonstrated their united desire to address this environmental crisis but we still face huge challenges to fix this problem," said Clare Perry, EIA UK climate campaigns leader. "This is a turning point for the Montreal Protocol - nothing less than a comprehensive overhaul of its compliance and enforcement regime will ensure that this doesn't happen again."