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La lucrarile reuniunii vor fi abordate probleme prioritare care vizeaza promovarea unor actiuni cu rezultat imediat in aplicarea diagramei de eliminare treptata din economie a substantelor care depreciaza stratul de ozon. Obiectivul reuniunii il constituie adoptarea unor decizii suplimentare, in vederea punerii in aplicare a prevederilor Protocolului de la Montreal si a Amendamentelor la Protocol adoptate la Londra, la Copenhaga, la Montreal si la Beijing.

In perioada 21 – 24 noiembrie 2004, vor avea loc reuniuni la nivel tehnic, zilele de 25 – 26 noiembrie fiind destinate reuniunii ministeriale, la care participa ministrii si sefii delegatiilor din peste 180 de tari, semnatare ale acestui acord multilateral de mediu. /

Below are several facts about the draft law:

WHAT IS REACH?

REACH is a new regulatory system proposed by the European Commission to make producers and importers of chemicals prove that the substances they put on the market in the European Union are safe for consumers to use.

REACH stands for Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals. It applies to about 30,000 chemicals found in products as diverse as cars, computers and paint.

WHAT DOES THE COMMISSION’S PROPOSAL REQUIRE?

*All chemicals produced in or imported into the EU in quantities of at least one tonne per year must be registered with a central database. A series of tests is required to provide that information, varying according to the volume of the substances in question.

*Chemicals that are of "very high concern" such as those that can cause cancer, damag? genes or have an effect on fertility, and those that are persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) or very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB) would have to go through an evaluation.

*Chemicals of greatest concern will need an authorisation for specific uses. Authorisation will be granted if the company shows that risks can be adequately controlled.

WHAT CHANGES HAS PARLIAMENT PROPOSED?

*The conservatives, socialists and liberals in the European Parliament agreed a compromise package on the subject of registration that reduces the number of substances in the low-tonnage category that would require tests.

That category applies to chemicals that are produced or imported in amounts of between 1 and 10 tonnes a year, estimated to be between 17,500 and 20,000 substances.

The package is expected to get broad support in Thursday’s vote.

*The Green party has produced an alternative to that compromise.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE OUTSTANDING ISSUES?

*No agreement has been reached on the issue of mandatory substitution for hazardous chemicals.

*The amount of animal testing required by REACH remains a divisive subject.

HOW BIG IS THE EUROPEAN CHEMICALS SECTOR?

*According to industry group CEFIC, the EU’s chemical industry had sales of 586 billion euros in 2004, making it the leading chemical-producing area in the world, followed by Asia and the United States. Germany is Europe’s largest chemical producer with companies including BASF and Bayer.

*CEFIC says the EU chemical industry (excluding pharmaceuticals) is made up of roughly 27,000 companies, 96 percent of which have fewer than 250 employees, placing them in the category of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

WHAT ARE THE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF REACH?

*The European Commission forecasts REACH will cost the chemical industry 2.3 billion euros ($2.8 billion) over 11 years. Total costs to industry — including sectors such as metals, textiles, electronics and cars — are estimated between 2.8 billion and 5.2 billion euros.

*The Commission says REACH would create health benefits worth 50 billion euros over 30 years.

WHAT DO THE CRITICS SAY?

*Environmental and health organisations say the bill has already been seriously watered down and want to make sure it stays true to its original goals. The chemical industry is worried that the costs of the new requirements will eat up profits, lead to the removal of chemicals from the market and shut down SMEs that cannot cope.

*Other countries have also pressured the EU about REACH. The United States has criticised it for trade reasons, and African nations have said its requirements could harm their mining industries and push them further into poverty.

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Potrivit RNP, in toamna acestui an se vor planta circa 20 de hectare cu specii de foioase, iar restul suprafetei, in primavara anului 2005, cu puieti de rasinoase, specii pentru care se recomanda ca plantarea sa se faca in acest sezon.

RNP a luat masura de regenerare a fondului forestier in aceasta zona, in urma viiturilor provocate de ploile abundente cazute in aceasta vara in raza judetului Bacau, care au afectat numeroase locuinte. Una dintre cauzele producerii acestor fenomene a fost defrisarea abuziva a padurilor private de pe Valea Trotusului.

Tighter rules on insulating houses to save energy will also be introduced, a step that could help to cut 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, said Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin at a climate presentation on Monday.

Villepin said France would also back moves to curb greenhouse gas emissions beyond 2008-2012, the first period covered by the international Kyoto Protocol on climate change.

"We will continue our efforts to convince all industrialized countries and the large emerging countries to join us," Villepin said.

His comments came as officials from 150 countries prepare to meet in Montreal, Canada on November 28 for a UN climate change summit to help shape the Kyoto Protocol post 2012.

The United States and Australia have declined to ratify the pact, and developing nations, such as China and India, are exempt from emissions caps that all four countries say threaten economic growth.

France aims to boost the use of renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, to 21 percent of electricity output by 2010 from 15 percent now as part of its bid to curb emissions.

"Beyond this protocol, we wish to enter new engagements on CO2 emissions," Villepin said. The government said it planned to boost solar power producers by paying them substantially more for the electricity they produce.

Tariffs for supplies to homeowners would rise 50 percent next year, with prices for supply to businesses rising 100 percent, the government said.

At the same time tax credits for buying solar-fired heaters would be raised by 10 percentage points to 50 percent in 2006.

As private cars account for 60 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, a new law will make it obligatory to label new cars according to emissions by June 2006, the government said.

Precum informeaza agentia INFOTAG, el a mentionat ca deseurile de la sistemul de canalizare orasenesc se scurg direct in Nistru, din care sint alimentati cu apa chisinauenii.

"Zilnic, in riu nimeresc 2040 de tone de deseuri care nu trec prin instalatiile de epurare. Aceasta problema trebuie sa fie solutionata de conducerea tarii, care nu intreprinde nimic pentru a-i proteja pe chisinaueni impotriva eventualelor boli si riscului de a ramine fara apa", considera Urechean. El a recunoscut ca si instalatiile de epurare din capitala au nevoie de reconstructie. Echipamentul este uzat in proportie de 90%, unitatile sint exploatate la jumatate de capacitate.

Constantin Becciev, directorul intreprinderii "Apa-canal", a relevat ca in anul 2004 pentru reparatia instalatiilor de epurare s-au investit 12 mln. de lei, insa aceasta este insuficient.

"Noi am incheiat, practic, reparatia aerotancului, care a iesit din functiune. "Apa-canal" cauta eventuale cai de solutionare a problemei. Acum citiva ani, la Iasi, situatia in ceea ce priveste instalatiile de epurare era cu mult mai proasta decit este astazi la Chisinau. insa orasul a reusit sa gaseasca investitii de 60 mln. de euro si sa reconstruiasca sistemul", a spus Becciev.

INFOTAG precizeaza: Instalatiile de epurare din Chisinau au fost construite in anii 1968-1984. Mirosul specific raspindit in oras se datoreaza tehnologiei invechite de tratare a deseurilor, care sint aruncate pe un teren de 32 ha si se usuca acolo pentru a fi tratate ulterior.

In primele sase luni ale acestui an au mai fost realizate lucrari de regenerare pe alte 14.515 hectare (din care pe 8.108 hectare au fost impaduriri). Pentru a sustine acest program de impaduriri, in pepinierele Romsilva au fost produsi peste 88 de milioane de puieti forestieri (28,7 milioane puieti de rasinoase si 59,6 milioane puieti de foioase). Din acest total, in campania de impaduriri de toamna vor fi plantati 25 de milioane de puieti.
Potrivit directorului general al Romsilva, Ion Dumitru, cea mai mare parte din terenurile care vor fi impadurite in aceasta toamna sunt suprafete degradate, care nu mai pot fi utilizate in agricultura sau care au potential agricol redus. Astfel, impaduririle care vor fi realizate pe 1.600 de hectare reprezinta lucrari de ameliorare a unor terenuri degradate preluate in fondul forestier proprietate publica a statului. Cea mai mare parte a lucrarilor de impadurire vizeaza directiile silvice din sudul Romaniei (Braila, Calarasi, Craiova, Constanta, Galati, Giurgiu, Slatina, Slobozia si Tulcea). De asemenea, Romsilva va finaliza pana la sfarsitul acestui an impadurirea a 5.000 de hectare din cele 6.500 care fac obiectul contractului de vanzare-cumparare a emisiilor de dioxid de carbon incheiat cu Banca Internationala pentru Reconstructie si Dezvoltare. Cele mai multe lucrari pe suprafetele care fac obiectul contractului se vor desfasura in aceasta toamna pe raza directiilor silvice Craiova, Slatina, Braila si Tulcea, pe aproximativ 981 hectare. Romsilva a anuntat ca este posibila depasirea suprafetei programate pentru sfarsitul anului de 5.000 de hectare cu aproximativ 108 hectare.
In aceste zile Romsilva a mai demarat un important program de impadurire a unor suprafete de teren proprietate privata, prin furnizarea (in toamna si primavara viitoare) a peste 22 milioane de puieti. Din acest volum, 12,1 milioane puieti vor fi pusi la dispozitia solicitantilor chiar in aceasta toamna, urmand sa fie plantate 2.470 hectare. RNP a demarat simbolic acest program prin inceperea impaduririi cu cer si salcam a unei suprafete de 19 hectare de teren proprietate privata din comuna Slobozia, judetul Giurgiu. In cazul in care nu ar fi beneficiat de sprijinul RNP, proprietarul terenului ar fi trebuit sa cheltuiasca aproximativ 200 milioane lei pentru a-l impaduri.

"O eventuala poluare cu cianuri provocata de punerea in practica a proiectului de exploatare a aurului de la Rosia Montana – asemanatoare cu cea de acum cativa ani de pe Tisa – ar afecta, in afara de Romania, si Ungaria" se afirma in comunicatul remis MTI de catre ombudsmanul ungar.

Referindu-se la initiativele si actiunile de pana acum ale autoritatilor ungare, Barnabas Lenkovics gaseste necesar ca, bazandu-se pe normele de drept international, guvernul ungar – respectiv Ministerul Mediului – sa se adreseze decis guvernelor Romaniei, Canadei si Statelor Unite precum si forurilor Uniunii Europene si ONU "pentru a apara interesele de mediu ale Ungariei si ale zonei".

In acelasi timp, Lenkovics a precizat ca a cerut informatii privind evolutia cazului Rosia Montana de la ombudsmanul roman Ioan Moraru si si-a oferit colaborarea privind "inlaturarea pericolului comun care ameninta cele doua tari".

Vineri, mai multe zeci de persoane au participat la Szeged la o actiune de protest organizata de FIDESz – Partidul Civic Ungar – principala forta politica de opozitie – impotriva proiectului exploatarii aurifere de la Rosia Montana. Demonstrantii au cerut guvernului ungar sa actioneze mai hotarat impotriva realizarii proiectului.

The draft bill on Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) is scheduled for a vote in the European Parliament on Thursday after years of haggling and debate.

REACH is designed to protect people from the adverse effects of chemicals found in a wide range of products such as paint, detergents, cars and computers.

In the drive to get approval in the EU legislature, key political groups agreed last week on changes to reduce the number of substances in the low-tonnage category that would require tests.

"The Commission decided in favour of this compromise," Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen told lawmakers.

"We think that this compromise strikes a very good balance between the competitiveness, health and environment goals."

Environmentalists said the compromise went too far in accommodating industry’s demands and weakened the bill.

Support from the EU’s executive Commission, the original author of the bill with powers to accept or reject amendments, is crucial for REACH to move on in the EU legislative process.

The low-tonnage category applies to chemicals that are produced or imported in amounts of between 1 and 10 tonnes a year, estimated to be between 17,500 and 20,000 substances.

The package is expected to get broad support in a vote scheduled for Thursday despite dissent from the Greens party, which tabled a counter proposal.

Chemical makers would have to register the properties of substances with a central EU database. Those of highest concern, such as carcinogens, would require authorisation to be used.

CLOSER TO BECOMING LAW

The council of EU member states is debating its own version of REACH. Germany, which has Europe’s largest chemical industry, succeeded in delaying a decision among member states scheduled for later this month, but Britain still plans to obtain a deal before its presidency concludes at the end of 2005.

"We recognise we are very close to a deal and we still intend to achieve political agreement before the end of the UK presidency," Willy Bach, a minister in Britain’s Department of Environment, told lawmakers.

Verheugen said he hoped the outcome in parliament would spur member states to complete their position this year, too.

"I hope that this package will encourage the Council to adopt REACH still this year," he said, adding he thought there was a good chance it would be wrapped up by the end of 2005.

There are still outstanding issues, however. No agreement has been reached among lawmakers on the issue of mandatory substitution for hazardous chemicals, and the amount of animal testing required by REACH remains a divisive subject.

Environmental group Greenpeace said the compromise had diluted the bill.

"We are quite disappointed that the Commission is willing to water down and accept a watered down version of its proposal that will not give sufficient safety data on most chemicals covered by REACH," said Greenpeace policy officer Nadia Haiama.

She said she welcomed, however, signals that the Commission would support amendments that would require substituti?n of hazardous chemicals if alternatives exist.

Verheugen told lawmakers he did not feel REACH had been weakened or watered down.

In cadrul strategiei de aparare impotriva calamitatilor, Guvernul Romaniei a obtinut sprijinul Bancii Mondiale pentru finantarea proiectului mentionat in scopul reducerii impactului pe plan social, financiar, economic si asupra mediului pe care l-ar putea avea producerea unor eventuale calamitati naturale si poluarea accidentala a apelor, generata de activitati miniere.

Costul total al proiectului este de 203, 657 milioane dolari SUA si va fi finantat dupa cum urmeaza: imprumut BIRD-150 mil. USD, asistenta financiara nerambursabila FGM – 7 mil. USD si Guvernul Romaniei ? finantare de la bugetul de stat 46,657 mil. USD.