Moving towards the Montreal Protocol goals

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The Kigali Amendment was adopted on the 15th October 2016 at the close of the 28th meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (MOP 28). This amendment stipulates that developed countries will begin (HFCs) as of 2019, while developing countries commence the phase-out at a later stage. With Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago’s ratification, the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol has exceeded the 20-Party threshold for entry force.

During MOP 29 which took place in Montreal, Canada, Parties took into consideration: The Kigali Amendment; the Multilateral Fund (MLF) replenishment; issues related to article 2 of the protocol including nominations of critical use exemptions and nominations for essential use exemption; use of controlled substances as process agents; energy efficiency; and safety standards relevant to low global-warming potential alternatives.

The introductory section that took place from the 20th – 22nd November 2017 addressed the financial reports and budgets of the trust funds for the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol as well as the extension of the trust funds. While most of the agenda items at COP 11/MOP 29 were relatively easily discussed and agreed on, the Multilateral Fund (MLF) Replenishment Contact Group worked until close to midnight on the final day before they could agree on a draft decision to be presented to plenary.

Energy efficiency

A draft decision was finally agreed on, where energy efficiency took a large portion of the discussion. The importance of improving energy efficiency during the phasing out of HFCs is a crucial component as this could at least double the climate change mitigation benefits of the HFCs phase-down.
The Montreal Protocol parties concluded that developing countries would receive $540m under the Montreal Protocol to proceed the phase-out of HCFCs and to enable activities for phasing-down HFCs under the Kigali Amendment. Developed countries will provide the funding over the period 2018 to 2020 through the MLF.

The agreements that were reached at the conclusion of this joint meeting confirmation that parties have taken steps to ensure continued implementation of the Montreal Protocol and the implementation of the Kigali Amendments, which received sufficient ratifications prior to the MOP, and will enter into force as of 1st January 2019.