11 July 2008: The 28th Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) of the parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer convened from 7-11 July 2008, in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Working Group considered: issues arising out of the progress report of the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP), including essential-use exemptions; a scoping study addressing alternatives to hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), and critical-use exemptions for the use of methyl bromide; and banks of ozone depleting substances (ODS). Informal discussions also took place on hydrofluorocarbons, the primary category of replacements for HCFCs, on which an agreement was reached at the 19th Meeting of the Parties in 2007. The Working Group forwarded its recommendations on these and other matters to the Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, which will convene from 16-20 November 2008 in Doha, Qatar. [Advance Copy of the Report of the twenty-eighth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol]