Premier Li Qiang signs off amendment for ozone-depleting substances

Premier Li Qiang has singed an amendment to the country's regulation on ozone-depleting substances, as the country strives to implement the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, according to a media release from the State Council, the country's cabinet.

The amendment rules that enterprises that generate ODS as by-products should not discharge the substances directly. Instead, they should dispose of them in an environmentally friendly manner.

It also stipulates that companies that produce and consume the substances in large quantity, and those that generate a large amount of ODS as by-products, should install automatic monitoring devices, which will be connected to the monitoring systems of environmental authorities.

The amendment also introduces stiffer penalties for violations, the release noted.

It said those companies that receive administrative penalties for violating the regulation will have their misconducts included into their credit records, and the violations will be made public.

Finalized in 1987, the Montreal Protocol went into effect in 1989.