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Thirteenth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal
Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer

Colombo, Sri Lanka - 16-19 October 2001
 

Highlights for Tuesday, 16 October

Following an opening ceremony, delegates addressed organizational matters, the terms of reference (TOR) for the Multilateral Fund replenishment study, the proposal for an evaluation of the financial mechanism, the review of the fixed-exchange-rate mechanism, Article 5 Parties' HCFC phase-out schedule, information on new ODS and industrial rationalization.

Dinesh Gunewardana, Minister of Transport & Environment of Sri Lanka, being greeted by the Secretariat as he arrives for the opening plenary.
   
Minister Gunewardana and the members of the Ozone Secretariat lit a traditional oil lamp before opening MOP-13.
 
MOP-13 opened with a cultural ceremony including the performance of a MOP-13 theme song by Sri Lankan school children and a traditional greeting ceremony performed by the Sri Lankan Army Band [right and below].
 
 
   
Dinesh Gunewardana, Minister of Transport and Environment, Sri Lanka, welcomed MOP-13 delegates. He said Sri Lanka plans to ratify the Beijing Amendment within the year and highlighted domestic measures to reduce ODS consumption, including the conversion of CFC-consuming refrigerator factories, a CFC recovery programme, research on alternatives to methyl bromide in tea production and regulatory measures on ODS imports. He noted that Sri Lanka aims to phase out CFCs by 2005, five years ahead of the scheduled 2010 phase-out date.
Listen to Gunewardana's opening statement
 
From left to right: Minister Gunewardana, Milton Catelin (Australia) and P.V. Jayakrishnan (India), Co-Chairs of the Prepatory Segment of MOP-13.
 
Michael Graber, Deputy Executive Secretary and Officer-in-Charge, Ozone Secretariat, welcomed participants on behalf of UNEP Executive Director Klaus Töpfer. Highlighting the "outstanding" rate of reporting by Parties on their ODS production and consumption data, Graber pointed to the contribution of national ozone units, the Multilateral Fund and implementing agencies in achieving this result. He noted that MOP-14 would take place in Nairobi, from 25-29 November 2002. He urged delegates to remain focused on combating ozone depletion as the task is far from accomplished.
 
View of the hall during the opening ceremony, with members of the Buddhist clergy sitting in the front row
 

Theodore Kapiga, Multilateral Fund Treasurer [on the left], overviewed the interim review of the implementation of the fixed-exchange-rate mechanism (UNEP/OzL.Pro.13/6). He said that for Parties using the fixed-exchange-rate mechanism using in 2000 and 2001, a loss of US$11.46 million or 14.5% of pledges was incurred. He noted a 3.9% loss of total pledges for 2000 and 2001 due to the fixed-exchange-rate mechanism. Based on the current trends, he projected a total loss of US$34.5 million in the triennium due to exchange rate fluctuations.

Andrew Reed, Multilateral Fund Secretariat [on the right], said the fixed-exchange-rate mechanism introduces uncertainty in the business planning and project approval process. He estimated that the projected shortfall for the triennium could forfeit the phase out of 6,272 ODP tonnes.

  
Left to right: Co-Chairs Catelin and Jayakrishnan, and Deputy Executive Secretary Graber.
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