Highlights and images for 1 July 2019

Summary

Highlights for Monday, 1 July 2019

John Thompson, US, and Philip Owen, EU, greeting Xia Yingxian and Zhang Jieqing, China at the morning plenary

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) opened on Monday, 1 July 2019, in Bangkok, Thailand.In their opening addresses, Apichin Jotikasthira, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Thailand, urged all parties to ratify the Kigali Amendment as soon as possible. Dechen Tsering, Director, UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, called for ensuring energy efficiency improvements in the refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) sector are included in the Amendment’s implementation. Tina Birmpili, Executive Secretary, Ozone Secretariat, said the CFC-11 case demonstrates the need for continued national vigilance and enforcement and for improving global monitoring.Following organizational matters, delegates addressed the issue of unexpected emissions of CFC-11 (Decision XXX/3). Key highlights include:

presentations by the Scientific Assessment Panel (SAP) and the Technical and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) Task Force on CFC-11 of their preliminary reports on the issue;

parties' discussion on the presentations and a general debate; and

establishing a contact group to address two areas, namely technical and scientific issues, including information needs, as well as institutional matters under the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol.

Parties also discussed the Terms of References (ToR) for the 2021–2023 Multilateral Fund (MLF) replenishment study, and the Quadrennial Assessment of the Montreal Protocol for 2018 and potential areas of focus for the 2022 Assessment. A contact group was established to discuss the replenishment study ToR.Side events on the India Cooling Action Plan, new insights into the source of increased CFC-11 emissions, and ‘National Cooling Plans: Linking cooling to energy efficiency interventions’ also took place.Delegates arrived at OEWG 41 ready to tackle a heavy agenda with many acknowledging that CFC-11 issues will likely dominate discussions. Some lauded the depth of discussion that had taken place but cautioned that “serious thought” needs to be given on how to improve monitoring, reporting, and verification, and tighten compliance.

IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) meeting coverage, is providing daily web coverage from OEWG 41. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary and analysis from the meeting, which is available in HTML and PDF.

Photos by IISD/ENB | Sean Wu

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