The Extraordinary Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (ExMOP) took place from 24-26 March in Montreal, Canada.

Over 350 participants attended, representing 114 governments, as well as UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, intergovernmental organizations, industry and academia. Delegates to the ExMOP adopted decisions relating to: further specific interim reductions of methyl bromide for the period beyond 2005, applicable to Article 5 Parties; nominations for critical-use exemptions (CUEs) for methyl bromide; conditions for granting and reporting CUEs for methyl bromide; and the work procedures of the Methyl Bromide Technical Options Committee (MBTOC) relating to the evaluation of critical-use nominations (CUNs).
At the ExMOP, Parties took decisions on a series of issues relating to methyl bromide that had been left unresolved at the 15th Meeting of the Parties in Nairobi in November 2003. Compromise was reached by, among others, adopting a double-cap concept distinguishing between use and production for CUEs, and by establishing an ad hoc working group to review the working procedures and terms of reference of MBTOC. Parties’ perseverance through what some called excruciating negotiations has demonstrated the continued robustness and relevance of the ozone regime. The Earth Negotiations Bulletin report outlining these discussions in detail can be found at: http://enb.iisd.org/ozone/exmp/