One starting point for the activities of a national focal point under an MEA is in the focal point’s own State. A key first step is preparing and adopting a national strategy to comply with the MEA.
In the context of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the Country Programme (CP) is the first activity that the Protocol’s financial mechanism, the Multilateral Fund (MLF), finances in developing countries (referred to as “Article 5 countries”). The CP is the strategy that the developing country plans to follow to eliminate the consumption and production of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS), following the Montreal Protocol schedules. A country programme defines the strategy and provides the frame work for a State’s national ODS phase-out plan or, in States that consume low volumes of ODS, a refrigerant management plan. It contains a review of recent production, imports, applications, and use of controlled ODS; a description of the institutional framework governing controlled ODS; a description of the policy framework and industry activities in response to the Montreal Protocol; an action plan with a timetable for each activity; and an indication of the funding from the Multilateral Fund for projects and activities to phase out controlle\d ODS.
A country programme must be approved by the MLF’s Executive Committee, since it is a prerequisite for a State to obtain further financial support from the Multilateral Fund. The Executive Committee comprises members from seven developed and seven developing countries and is responsible for the operation of the US$2.1 billion Fund.
Once the Committee approves a country programme, the relevant State works together with one or more of the MLF’s implementing agencies (including UNDP, UNEP, UNIDO, the World Bank, and a number of bilateral agencies) to prepare and implement projects and activities. Funding for these projects and activities is approved by the Executive Committee only after a thorough review process.
Almost all Article 5 countries now have approved country programmes. New Parties are provided with preparatory funding to prepare a combined country programme/refrigerant management plan.
All countries with a country programme are required to provide data on the progress made in implementing their country programmes to the MLF Secretariat in order to obtain continuing support for institutional strengthening to maintain their National Ozone Units (NOUs). The Fund Secretariat uses this country programme data when analyzing the status of compliance of Article 5 countries with the Montreal Protocol.