42nd Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (OEWG 42)

Tina Birmpili, Executive Secretary, Ozone Secretariat, welcomed delegates during this "strange and difficult time for all of us" as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a toll on countries across the globe. Reminding delegates that the online technical session addresses the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) Replenishment Task Force’s report on the replenishment of the Multilateral Fund (MLF) for 2021-2023, she asked that as delegates consider the MLF replenishment needs, they bear in mind the need to "build back better" after the pandemic. 

TEAP Task Force Co-Chairs Bella Maranion, Suely Carvalho and Shiqui Zhang presented their report, noting that the report takes into account, among others, the need to allocate resources for: the special needs of those countries whose consumption of ozone depleting substances is classified as low-volume-consuming (LVC) and very-low-consuming; developing country (Article 5) parties to achieve and/or maintain compliance with the Protocol’s control measures;  and Article 5 parties to comply with the Kigali Amendment on hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). They provided an overview of the methodologies and scenarios used, including how Indicative figures for transitioning to low-or zero-GWP alternatives to hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) were obtained. They stated that for the triennium 2021-2023, the Task Force had estimated funding requirements to range from USD 376,697,000 to USD 808,706,000.

Despite some technical difficulties, delegates participating in the session were able to engage in a fruitful discussion with the Task Force and put forward their concerns and queries for further clarification.

During the discussion, parties called for estimates on HFC disposal costs to be included and urged further Task Force consultations on the needs of LVCs.

They lamented that funding for institutional strengthening may be insufficient. Parties queried the data sources and methodologies used to obtain funding estimates. In particular, they asked for clarification on figures for the HFC phasedown.

Parties also highlighted the importance of creating centres of excellence for LVC countries to aid in capacity building, and consideration of the potential impact of COVID-19 on future activities.

As it is “business unusual” for the work of the Montreal Protocol, the online forum will reopen from 17-31 July 2020 to allow parties to have another opportunity to submit additional comments and questions on the TEAP Task Force’s report that have not yet been addressed. The OEWG 42 Co-Chairs will then compile and share these submissions with all parties.

The TEAP will not prepare its customary supplementary report in September as that report responds to a negotiated list of additional issues and requests from parties; instead TEAP will respond to parties’ queries in the form of a note. The Co-Chairs' compilation of comments and questions will serve as the basis for any negotiations that may take place.

The technical sessions, co-chaired by Alain Wilmart (Belgium) and Obed Baloyi (South Africa), are taking place online over three days—14, 15 and 16 July 2020—with each identical session addressing the sole issue of the TEAP Replenishment Task Force’s report on the MLF replenishment for 2021-2023.

Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, OEWG 42 was unable to meet in Montreal, Canada as originally planned. The joint 12th session of the Conference of the Parties to the Vienna Convention (COP 12) and 23rd session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (MOP 23) is tentatively scheduled to take place in November 2020 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The Ozone Secretariat will inform parties by September 2020 if COP 12/ MOP 23 is unable to take place and notify them of alternate arrangements.

IISD, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage of the online technical sessions and a summary report and brief analysis of the event in HTML and PDF.