Delegates during the adoption of the report of the 30th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (MOP 30)

Meeting for the first time since the entry into force of the Kigali Amendment—the “New Year’s resolution we must not break”—the forty-first meeting of the Open-Ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (OEWG 41) will address a number of issues, notably the Assessment Panel reports on unexpected increases in chlorofluorocarbon (CFC-11) emissions, and linkages between hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in transitioning to low global warming potential (GWP) alternatives.

Adopted in 1987, the Montreal Protocol is the sole protocol to the 1985 Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer. The Protocol seeks to control and phase out ozone-depleting substances (ODS) such as CFCs, halons, carbon tetrachloride (CTC), methyl chloroform, methyl bromide, hydrobromofluorocarbons, and HCFCs. Through its most recent amendment, the 2016 Kigali Amendment, the Protocol also seeks to phase down HFCs, substitutes for many ODS that have been found to have a high GWP.

The OEWG meets annually for parties to meet and deliberate on issues to be addressed at forthcoming Meetings of the Parties (MOPs).

In addition to the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) and Scientific Assessment Panel (SAP) reports on increasing CFC-11 emissions, linkages between HCFCs and HFCs in transitioning to low GWP alternatives, the following issues were forwarded from the thirtieth Meeting of the Parties (MOP) to the Montreal Protocol in November 2018, as highlighted in our summary and analysis, for further consideration by OEWG 41:

• reconsideration of the TEAP Terms of Reference (ToR), composition, balance, fields of expertise and workload; and
• safety standards.

OEWG 41 will also consider:

• ToR for the study on the 2021-2023 replenishment of the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol (MLF);
• quadrennial assessment of the Montreal Protocol for 2018 and potential areas of focus for the 2022 assessment;
• 2019 TEAP report;
• Article 5 Parties access to energy-efficient technologies in the refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat-pump sectors;
• MLF Executive Committee membership;
• request by Azerbaijan to be included among the parties to which the phase-down schedule for HFCs, as set out in paragraphs 2 and 4 of Article 2J of the Montreal Protocol, applies; and
• risk of non-compliance with HCFC production and consumption reduction targets by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The outcomes of these discussions will inform draft decisions for consideration by Parties at MOP 31, which will convene in November 2019 in Rome, Italy.