Delegates at the United Nations climate conference have hammered out a "historic" agreement on tackling the twin challenges of protecting the ozone layer and combating climate change, DPA quoted UN officials as saying today. Environment ministers and high-level officials from 190 countries plus the European Commission, meeting in Montreal under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), agreed late Friday night to an accelerated timetable calling for the eventual phase-out of ozone-depleting chemicals known as hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) by developing countries by 2030. Developed countries will accelerate their phase-out of HCFCs, which are used in refrigeration, hairsprays and fire retardants, and are expected to complete it by 2020. This moves the phase-out ahead by 10 years. "This is, perhaps, my most satisfying day so far in my tenure," said Achim Steiner, UN under-secretary general and UNEP executive director, addressing the press conference in Montreal via video link from UN headquarters in New York.
