The high-level segment (HLS) of the thirty-fifth Meeting of the Parties (MOP 35) to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer reconvened on Friday, with MOP 35 President Azra Rogović-Grubić (Bosnia and Herzegovina) reopening the general debate. In parallel, several contact and other groups met to complete their work on outstanding matters, including on the replenishment of the Multilateral Fund (MLF) for the implementation of the Protocol, dumping, energy efficiency, and proposed adjustments to the Protocol occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the morning plenary, delegates continued to hear national statements. For the first time in its history, the MOP heard from the Children and Youth Major Group to UNEP, who urged increased engagement of youth in awareness creation and in seeking innovative solutions for alternatives in the phase down of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). He said that while youth is at the forefront of impacts of climate change, they are also motivated to play a role in ozone protection.
The Preparatory Segment, co-chaired by Co-Chair Vidémé Amèh Djossou (Togo), and Co-Chair Ralph Brieskorn (the Netherlands), opened at 9:15 pm to approve draft decisions agreed by contact and informal groups. These decisions were forwarded to the HLS for adoption.
Significantly, during the closing session of the HLS, delegates adopted the MLF replenishment for 2024-2026 in the amount of USD 965,000,000, which is the largest replenishment in the history of the Fund. They also approved the Protocol’s budget in the amount of USD 5,852,835 for 2024.
They also elected Miruza Mohamed (Maldives) and re-elected Brieskorn as OEWG Co-Chairs.
MOP 35 also adopted decisions on, among others:
- Stratospheric aerosol injection and protection of the ozone layer;
- Addressing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) baseline consumption for certain parties;
- Energy efficiency;
- Very short-lived substances;
- Potential areas of focus for the 2026 quadrennial reports of the Protocol’s Assessment Panels;
- The import and export of prohibited cooling equipment;
- Further strengthening Protocol institutions, including for combating illegal trade; and
- Options for the organization of the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) and its technical options committees.
Addressing procedural matters, the MOP agreed the 13th Conference of Parties to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and MOP 36 would be held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 28 October – 1 November 2024. They further agreed the 46th meeting of the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG 46) would be held from 8-12 July 2024 in Montreal, Canada.
MOP 35 closed at 12:35 am on Saturday, 28 October 2023.
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All ENB photos are free to use with attribution. For the 35th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (MOP35), please use: Photo by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis.
Evening Plenary
From L-R: MOP 35 Co-Chair Vidémé Amèh Djossou, Togo; Maria Socorro Manguiat, Deputy Executive Secretary, Ozone Secretariat; MOP 35 Co-Chair Ralph Brieskorn, the Netherlands; and Megumi Seki, Executive Secretary, Ozone Secretariat;
Leslie Smith, Grenada
Megumi Seki, Executive Secretary, Ozone Secretariat
Megumi Seki, Executive Secretary, Ozone Secretariat, with MOP 35 Vice-President Philippe Chemouny, Canada
Sandrine Benard, Norway
Annie Gabriel, Australia
Liazzat Rabbiosi and Martha Mulumba, Ozone Secretariat
Sebastian Schnatz, Germany
Jana Masickova, Czechia
Vasiliev Sergey, Russian Federation
Marco Gonzalez, Technology and Economic Assessment Panel, with David Fahey, Scientific Assessment Panel Co-Chair
Delegates from Czechia
High-Level Session
Jonathan Quevedo Tello, Peru, and Bruna Veríssimo Lima Santos, Brazil
Jafar Barmaki, Iran
Ibrahima Sory Cisse, Guinea
Jonathan Quevedo Tello, Peru
Bruna Veríssimo Lima Santos, Brazil
Bashiru Kargbo, Sierra Leone
Jainaba Jagne, the Gambia
Madi Sakande, Union of Associations of African Actors in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning
Mohammad Al Dosari, Saudi Arabia
Victor Ben Kwabe, Children and Youth Major Group to UNEP
Informal Negotiations
From L-R: John Thompson, US; Xiaolin Guo, China; and Sistla Subbarao, India
Nancy Akerman, US
Ana Maria Kleymeyer, Federated States of Micronesia
Patrick McInerney and Sarah Douglass, Australia
Martin Lacroix, Canada
TOR for the next Quadrennial Assessment Contact Group Co-Chairs Cindy Newberg, US, and Leslie Smith, Grenada
TOR for the next Quadrennial Assessment Contact Group Co-Chair Cindy Newberg, US
Aditya Narayan Singh and Rajasree Ray, India
Refrigerant Management Contact Group Co-Chairs Martijn Hildebrand, Netherlands, and Idris Abdullahi Ishaka, Nigeria
Between Sessions
From L-R: Elina Yuen, Cecilia Mercado, and Laura Duong, Multilateral Fund Secretariat
Ernesto Plasencia Escalante, Cuba
Jacques Glaï Monlolamon, Côte d'Ivoire, and Ibrahima Sory Cisse, Guinea
The delegation from Türkiye
Donna Mackay, UK
Rossana Silva Repetto and Cecilia Mercado, Multilateral Fund Secretariat
Belal Fannoun and Dima AlArqan, State of Palestine
Megumi Seki, Executive Secretary, Ozone Secretariat (right), with members of the Children and Youth Major Group to UNEP
Justina Aurea Da Costa Belo, TImor-Leste (middle), with members of the Children and Youth Major Group to UNEP
Around the Venue
