Washington, 13 March 1997 (RFE/RL) - The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has approved a $6.2 million grant to Poland to help phase out consumption of ozone depleting substances, mainly in aerosols and refrigeration.
The World Bank, which administers GEF grant programs, says that the worst ozone depleting chemicals, known as CFC's (chlorofluorocarbons), have been widely used in Poland, although the government had already begun a program to phase out their use.
The GEF grant will pay only about 30 percent of the costs of the project to convert several production factories in Poland to safer alternative chemicals, set up a nationwide system of collection and processing of used CFCs, and provide training for designers of fire protection systems and others.
The rest of the money will be raised with loans and equity earnings of the enterprises and agencies involved.