New Zealand legislation on Ozone Layer Protection
In 1996 the New Zealand Legislation was enriched by a special law aimed to reduce the ozone layer pollution and to decrease the carbon emissions in the air. The country had a contraversial position on the law before issuing it since the protective measures described by the new piece of legislation introduced a more strict approach to handling machineries, conducting the industrial process and the production. These laws even reach out to the consumption of fossil fuels in camper vans and large automobiles across the nation.
Recently the law was applied quite accurately in a case where two engeneers, after being aware of the law and being warned that releasing the substances in question is riskful, depleted a significants amount of chlorodifluoromethane HCFC22 into the atmosphere thus breaking the legal rules and harming the air purity. The court was reluctant to the conviction but the engeneers got convicted and fined almost 600 USD. The substance they depleted into the atmosphere is quite dangerous not only for the ozone layer disturbances and bear a hazard for the people since the compaunds of the gas are quite dangerous -mixed with hydrogen, the carbon forms the most simple organic matter -the methane. It is highly dangerous for the atmophere since the bonds of the elements are extremely strong and the physical characteristics of the gas are quite disturbing -the temperature and the energy that might be released make the sustance highly flamable and even if it cannot burn in the atmosphere, it can significantly contribute for the green house effect.
These are the reasons why through parliamentary legislation, and approved by the common law rules, the legal principle that NZ has adopted in dealing with carbon emissions is quite ramarkable and accurate. People should be aware that if they do not care enough about the atmospheric changes, they would suffer legal consequences.
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