14 July 2017: As the Montreal Protocol turns 30 this year, Parties to the Protocol held their first meeting since the 28th Meeting of the Parties (MOP 28) to the Montreal Protocol, in October 2016, which adopted the Kigali Amendment to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). HFCs are human-made, greenhouse gases (GHGs) with global warming potentials many times higher than carbon dioxide (CO2).

The thirty-ninth meeting of the Open-Ended Working Group to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (OEWG 39) convened at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand from 11-14 July 2017. It convened alongside a MOP 28 mandated Workshop on Safety Standards Relevant to the Safe Use of Low Global Warming Potential (GWP) Alternatives to HFCs on 10 July 2017.

OEWG 39 considered, inter alia: nominations for essential-use exemptions (EUEs) and critical-use exemptions (CUEs); issues related to the implementation of the Kigali Amendment, such as data reporting issues and consideration of approved destruction technologies for HFCs; and energy efficiency opportunities in refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump sectors relating to a transition to climate-friendly alternatives. OEWG 39 also examined a report by the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) on funding requirements for the 2018-2020 replenishment of the Multilateral Fund (MLF).

Before the Kigali Amendment can be implemented, the issues of data reporting requirements, updating global warming potential figures for controlled substances, and the process for approving destruction technologies for HFCs must be resolved.

While it was not the only topic addressed, the Kigali Amendment was an important item at OEWG 39. Before the Amendment can be implemented, several issues need to be resolved. Thus, negotiations took place on data reporting requirements, updating global warming potential figures for controlled substances, and the process for approving destruction technologies for HFCs. None of these issues were resolved at OEWG 39, and all three will need to be further negotiated at MOP 29.

Parties disagreed on how much the Montreal Protocol should address energy efficiency, with some suggesting the work is already happening in other fora, and others maintaining that energy efficiency forms part of the mandate of Kigali Amendment. Parties agreed to continue discussions at MOP 29, following a report from the TEAP.

On funding requirements for the 2018-2020 replenishment of the MLF, Parties requested supplementary information from the TEAP on funding needs for this period to inform the MOP 29 negotiations on the subject, as they did not manage to resolve the issue at OEWG 39. The TEAP will consider a list of issues in preparing its supplementary report for MOP 29, including general issues, such as distinguishing more clearly between the costs associated with the hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) phase out and the HFC phase down, and other issues grouped by specific chapters of the TEAP report.

Despite the difficulties in some areas, Parties agreed on a set of draft decisions to be sent to MOP 29, including on: essential uses of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) by non-Article 5 parties after 2020; energy efficient technical and financial assistance; and a workshop on climate and energy co-benefits of the Montreal Protocol.

Parties are expected to continue their discussions on these issues at MOP 29, convening in Montreal, Canada, 20-24 November 2017. [IISD RS Coverage] [Meeting Website]