All-Russian Schoolchildren and Student Competition Dedicated to the Ozone Layer Protection

March 16, 2013

• Order of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment S. Donskoy
• Procedure of the All-Russian Competition “Protect the Ozone Layer and Earth Climate”
• Composition of the Organizing Committee of the All-Russian Competition “Protect the Ozone Layer and Earth Climate”

In 2013, as part of the activities of the Year of the Environmental Protection, the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Education and Science and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) will held the All-Russian competition “Protect the Ozone Layer and Earth Climate”.

On September 16, the day of signing the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the whole world celebrates the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. This environmental event is widely celebrated all over the world: members of government, scientists and experts make speeches; tele and radio channels broadcast programs dedicated to the protection of the ozone layer; newspapers and magazines print articles; topical web-sites get launched; students and pupils attend numerous workshops. The UN Secretary-General annually sends the UN member states his traditional address dedicated to this matter.

In Russia, the celebration of the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer was initiated in 2011 by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment; and in 2012 the country widely celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol.

In pursuance of Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 1157 “On conducting the Year of the Environmental Protection in the Russian Federation” dated August 10, 2012, Government Edict No. 2189-p dated November 26, 2012, provides for conduction of all-Russian competition “Protect the Ozone Layer and Earth Climate” in 2013. The competition will be held among pupils and students of schools, institutions of secondary vocational and higher education.

About “Protect the Ozone Layer and Earth Climate”

The competition will be held throughout the Russian Federation. Its participants are pupils and students of general, secondary vocational and higher education institutions.

Nominations assigned after age groups are as follows:

• “Picture” for 1–4 year pupils
• “Poster” for 5–7 year pupils
• “Sustainability project” for students aging from the 5th year of school to higher educational institutions
• “Essay”, “Educational and Research and Scientific Work”, “Public Service Ad” for students from the 8th year to higher educational institutions
• “Methodological materials” for students of secondary vocational and higher education institutions

The competition will be held in 3 stages:

• Regional: from March 15 to April 30, 2013. Only for schoolchildren. Constituent entities of the Russian Federation hold the competition by themselves and select 20 best works in every nomination.
• Federal (distant): from May 11 to June 25, 2013. All nominations and age groups participate.
• Final: September 14–16, 2013. Winners of the federal stage speak in support of their works before the judges.

On September 16, 2013, on the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, an award ceremony of the competition winners will take place. Their works will be exhibited in the UNIDO Headquarters in Vienna (Austria).

Organizers and partners of the Competition

Organizers:

• Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation (MNRE)
• Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and federal state-financed institution of supplementary children education Federal Children Environmental-Biological Center (FGBOU DOD FDEBTs)
• UNIDO Center for International Industrial Cooperation in the Russian Federation

The co-chairpersons of the Organizing Committee are S. Levi, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, I. Remorenko, Deputy Minister of Education and Science, I. Shumakov, Deputy Head of the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring, A. Amirkhanov, Deputy Head of the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resource Usage, and S. Korotkov, Director of the UNIDO Center for International Industrial Cooperation in the Russian Federation.

The partners of the Competition are the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resource Usage (Rosprirodnadzor), Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Rosgidromet), Global Environment Facility (GEF), Russian representative office of Daikin Europe, non-commercial initiative WorldSkills Russia, state-financed institution of secondary vocational education Engineering College No. 19, information portal TopClimat.ru, and others.

Paper topics for the competition participants

1. Destruction of the ozone layer: background.
2. Popular myths of ozone holes.
3. International and Russian legislation in the field of the protection of the ozone layer.
4. Arrangement of advocacy of the ozone layer protection in Russia.
5. Alternative ozone-safe refrigerants and technologies in the HVAC&R sector.
6. Alternative ozone-safe technologies for foam production.
7. Alternative ozone-safe technologies for medicine.
8. Transition for ozone-safe technologies for Russian companies: economics and environment.
9. Environmental disturbances in the field of the ozone layer protection and efforts to combat them.
10. The Ozone Day as an international holiday.
11. The state regulation system for production and use of ozone-depleting substances.
12. The ozone layer protection: Russia and Europe.
13. The ozone layer protection: environment and economics.
14. International practice of regulation of production and consumption of fluorine- and chlorine-containing gases.
15. International organizations acting in the area of the ozone layer protection.
16. Ozone-depleting refrigerants: environmentally-safe recovery, regeneration, recycle or destruction.
17. Instructions for end-users of ozone-depleting substances and equipment that contains those substances.
18. International environmental agreements and protection of national interests of Russia.
19. International practice of organization of control over ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gases.
20. Tools and methods to control the condition of the ozone layer.
21. Performance of the ozone network in Russia and the world.
22. Mechanisms of depletion and repair of the ozone layer.
23. The ozone layer and the Earth climate.
24. Role of the ozone layer in the advent of life on the Earth.

For additional information on these topics, please, go to www.ozoneprogram.ru

Importance of the Competition

On September 16, 1987, 46 countries signed the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer, a document requiring member countries to limit on a step-by-step basis, and then completely phase out production and use of ODSs. By today 197 countries have ratified the Protocol, that is all the UN member countries. The Montreal Protocol proved to be the most successful international environmental treaty, and in 1994 the UN General Assembly proclaimed September 16 the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer commemorating the date of its signing.

The motto of the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer is “Save Our Sky: Protect Yourself, Protect the Ozone Layer”. This event should be dedicated to the promotion of activities related to objects and goals of the Montreal Protocol.

The ozone layer protects the Earth from the hazardous effect of UV radiation, so its depletion would do irreparable harm to the biosphere.

Currently, the Russian Federation is phasing out ODSs—hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC). By 2015, their consumption and production should be reduced by 90 % These substances are still widely used as refrigerants in industrial and domestic air-conditioners (more than 8 million of HCFC-containing appliances are in operation now), in industrial and commercial refrigerating equipment, foam agents used in heat insulation of domestic refrigerators (up to 40 % of appliances in operation), sandwich panels, and solvents. Today the Russian Government is working on limiting ODS use in accordance with the Montreal Protocol and legislation of the Russian Federation and Customs Union. To that end, import of ODS and ODS-containing products on the territory of the Customs Union is prohibited; industrial plants receive support in conversion to manufacture of ozone-safe products; the destruction system for ODSs and ODS-containing products is under development; measures to prevent illicit traffic of these substances are taken (by FCS and MOI).

The draft Federal Law “On amending Federal Law “On Environment Protection” and Article 82 of the Russian Code of Administrative Violations in part of ensuring fulfillment by the Russian Federation of its obligations under the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer” that will soon be submitted to the State Duma of the Russian Federation has been endorsed at the session of the Government of the Russian Federation that took place on February 28, 2013.