On the penultimate day of the virtual combined twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (Part I) of the Vienna Convention and thirty-second Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (COP 12(I)/MOP 32), delegates spent much of their time in contact groups and informal discussions as it tried it finalize the remaining agenda items in anticipation of the High-Level Segment on Friday.
The Replenishment Contact Group addressed two draft decisions: an interim budget to allow the Multilateral Fund (MLF) Secretariat to continue operating in 2021; and to allow the Secretariat to arrange an Extraordinary MOP (ExMOP) in 2021 to take a final budget decision should conditions allow. It finalized text on the decision to arrange an ExMOP, and the draft decision was forwarded to the High-Level Segment (HLS). More time will be required to finalize the outstanding decision on an interim budget.
The Budget Committee considered and finalized the budgets for the trust funds of both the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol. The latter was contingent on the outcome of the Replenishment Contact Group discussions.
An informal group on the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) membership also met. Parties were tasked with finalizing nominations for positions becoming vacant, with some wondering how best to address this issue to account for the flexibility needed given the uncertainty currently being faced globally. Although discussions concluded, with parties agreeing to appoint co-chairs for a full term, and appoint senior experts for a one-year term, some parties asked for further time to reflect on the matter.
Plenary met briefly at the start and the end of the day’s session, during which delegates agreed to extend the period for parties to sign on the Rome Declaration on the Contribution of the Montreal Protocol to Food Loss Reduction through Sustainable Cold Chain Management adopted at MOP 31 in 2019. They also forwarded the draft decisions on the 2021 memberships of the Implementation Committee, the MLF’s Executive Committee, as well as the co-chairs of the Open-ended Working Group, to the HLS.
COP 12(I)/MOP 32 is meeting online from 23-27 November 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic from 2:00 – 4:00 PM East Africa Time.
The Earth Negotiations Bulletin will publish a summary and analysis of the meeting on Monday, 30 November 2020.
Selected Photos
Patrick McInerney, Australia
OEWG 42 Co-Chair Alain Wilmart, Belgium
Budget Committee Facilitator Nicole Folliet, Canada
Ole-Kristian Kvissel, Norway
Sebastian Schnatz, Germany
Alessandro Giuliano Peru, Italy
Chen Haijun, China
Silvia Lacayo, Nicaragua
Monica Velarde, Mexico
Osvaldo Alvarez-Perez, Chile
John Thompson, US
Cheikh Ndiaye Sylla, Senegal
Cindy Newberg, US
Annie Gabriel, Australia
Philippe Chemouny, Canada
Ralph Brieskorn, the Netherlands
Noluzuko Gwayi, South Africa
Sandeep Bhambra, Ozone Secretariat
Chris Ververis, US
Emily Vallée Watt, Canada
Replenishment Contact Group Co-Chair Leslie Smith, Grenada