The United States has submitted a proposal to adjust the  Montreal Protocol, accelerating the phase-out of ozone damaging chemicals.  
 The proposal includes four elements that can be  considered individually or as a package:
 - Accelerating the phase-out date of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) by 10 years;
- Adding interim reduction steps;
- Setting an earlier baseline;
Phasing out the most damaging HCFCs to the  ozone layer as the first priority.
 These proposals would accelerate existing efforts to  address ozone layer protection, cleaner air, and climate change by calling on  the global community to act more quickly in phasing out  hydrochlorofluorocarbons. In addition, this year is the 20th anniversary of the  signing of the Montreal Protocol, which presents an excellent opportunity to  assess the progress that the Parties have made since 1987, as well as an  opportunity to accelerate the work that remains to be done to meet the Treaty's  objectives.
  Submitted VIA RSS By Laura B. http://lib.wmrc.uiuc.edu/enb/?p=2346
 