China's 10th international ozone protection conference opens in Shenzhen today, the UN's International Ozone Day, for which celebrations of are being organized by governments worldwide.

Paul Krajnik, chairman of the executive committee of the UN Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol, arrived yesterday to attend, saying "Shenzhen is not just a modern city but a green area. Its successful performance in eliminating ODS (ozone depleting substances) can serve as a good example for other Chinese cities."

Officials from the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), UN Environment Program (UNEP), representatives from more than 40 countries and mayors of 41 Chinese cities will take part in the two-day event, which will focus on ozone protection in cities and towns.

Shenzhen Municipal Government and Jilin Province will be honored with a special gold prize at the conference for their contribution to ozone layer protection.

There are no Shenzhen-based factories producing ODS substitutes, but Krajnik said that the fund would invest more in Shenzhen's research and development of substitute products to speed up ODS elimination.

A report in Shenzhen local Daily Sunshine said that, though 90 percent of citizens had heard of the protective effect of the ozone layer, not many knew how to help protect it.

An official from the city's environmental protection bureau said people should buy CFC-free refrigerators and air conditioners as CFCs were a common ODS, according to the report.

Developed countries have largely phased out ODS and banned trading of products containing them, and China now accounts for 50 percent of global ODS consumption.

The fund promised earlier this year to inject 20 million yuan (US$2.4 million) by the end of 2005 and even more in the future to assist in Shenzhen's elimination of ODS.

The conference, organized by central government and hosted by the SEPA, was held annually in Beijing till 2003, then in Xi'an last year.

Shenzhen reportedly hopes to receive more professional training from the SEPA and international organizations like the UNEP, and expects more financial and technical assistance for projects such as replacing CFCs and establishing a CFC recycling center.

The participating Chinese mayors signed a proposal to protect the ozone layer and speed up ODS elimination. According to the document, their 41 cities will eliminate CFCs from products before July 1 next year, one year prior to the national deadline.

The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer is an international treaty that was opened for signatures in September 1987 and came into force in January 1989. Since then it has been revised five times, most recently in Beijing in 1999, with 183 nations now party to it.

(Shenzhen Daily September 16, 2005)