Revision of the Ozone Regulation [EU Legislation in Progress]

Written by Dessislava Yougova (2nd edition, updated on 09.05.2023).

Stratospheric ozone absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the sun and reduces the overall amount of radiation reaching the Earth’s surface. Ozone-depleting substances (ODS) are human-made chemicals that, once emitted, reach the upper atmosphere and destroy the protective ozone layer, causing what is known as the ozone hole. They have significant adverse impacts on human health and the environment and are also greenhouse gases with high global warming potential.

Regulation (EC) No 1005/2009 on substances that deplete the ozone layer lays down rules on the production, use, trade, recovery, recycling, reclamation and destruction of ODS and sets out requirements and measures for products and equipment containing these substances. On 5 April 2022, the European Commission submitted a proposal for a regulation on ODS repealing the current one. The aim is to increase the efficiency of the existing measures in order to achieve additional emission reductions in line with the European Green Deal, to ensure more comprehensive monitoring of ODS, to reduce the administrative costs by simplifying the rules, to modernise the licensing system and reduce costs for industry, and to improve the coherence with other pieces of legislation such as Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 on fluorinated greenhouse gases, which is being revised in parallel. One of the main objectives of the proposal is to prevent emissions from old products and equipment still containing ODS that have to be recovered and destroyed.

The file has been referred to the European Parliament’s Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI). Parliament adopted amendments to the proposal on 30 March 2023, setting its position for interinstitutional negotiations (trilogues).

Versions

• May 2023: Revision of the Ozone Regulation (2nd edition)