With almost six years of regionalized delivery experience and important milestone of 2010 phase out commitments looming on the horizon, there is a need to review CAP's assistance to countries on compliance issues with a view to design the plan of action for the next five years and beyond. The focus in the next two years would be on compliance with 2010 targets and assisting countries in gearing up to the challenge of HCFC freeze in 2013 and 10% consumption phaseout by 2015.
CFCs
The Parties will need to review phase out of additional 15% from their base-line production and consumption within 2 years (2008-2009). This challenging last mile needs careful attention and would need country-wise assessment of CFC consumption situation and implementation of phaseout measures to phaseout this 15% left-over consumption. The focus would be on phasingout remaining CFCs consumed in RAC sector through NPPs and TPMPs and in CFC MDI manufacturing countries, addressing CFC MDI phaseout needs.
Other Ozone Depleting Substances
For most Parties, in particular the Low-Volume Consuming Countries (LVCs), the past approaches have focused on Country Programmes/Refrigerant Management Plans (CP/RMP) as vehicles of CFC phase out primarily with less focus on other ODS. As many countries have recently discovered, the phase-out of other ODSs such as methyl bromide, carbon tetrachloride (CTC) and methyl chloroform (TCA), could pose significant problems as well. Issues, such as the controlling of methyl bromide import with exemption to quarantine and pre-shipment applications, use of CTC as process agents and laboratory and analytical uses would need to be addressed in the TPMP. Further, plans for production closures in the countries in the region e.g., production phaseout plans for South Korea for halons, are important to know so that the import dependent countries can define policies aligned to such plans.
HCFCs Adjustments
The Decision taken during the 19th MOP (Decision XIX/6) to accelerate the phase out of consumption and production of HCFCs in Article 5 countries has major implications on the work ahead for the countries and CAP. CAP team needs to gear itself up to this challenging new work area. CAP has already received some guidance from the 2007 CAP Advisory Group meeting in Montreal on 22 September 2007 about this issue (e.g. reorient some existing CAP services to address HCFCs to a certain extent, and consider developing web pages linked to other existing information resources related to HCFCs). The Executive Committee during the 53rd Meeting has had elaborate consultations on this issue and guidance from such discussions would be used in developing CAP business plans in the future years. It is also recognized that some of these interventions have linkages with climate change (e.g., use of low HCFC emission technologies, energy efficiency opportunities for HCFC phaseout etc.).
Chemical Management
The last few years have seen the coming into force of chemical Multilateral Environment Agreements (MEAs) and discussions at the international forum are encouraging developing synergies between these MEAs. Various Governing Council, MOP and COP decisions encourage such cooperation and mandate the Secretariats to explore ways of enhancing the cooperation with other Secretariats of the MEAs. The Regional Office is being called upon to facilitate efforts of the various chemical conventions and SAICM at the regional level. This will provide a good opportunity to integrate the Montreal Protocol activities with other chemical management activities for sustaining such activities beyond 2010. Informal Prior Informed Consent (iPIC) is one such initiative actively being promoted in the region to reduce illegal trade. Recent approval of the SIDA project on Regional Enforcement Networking for Asia and Pacific will provide a good opportunity to explore these synergies at the ground level. Moreover, MOP decisions on Green Customs Initiative and illegal trade (XIV/7, XVII/16, XVIII/12 and XIX/12) will provide another opportunity to link Montreal Protocol with broader chemical management issues.
Beyond 2010
Experiences from A2 countries have revealed that post phase out issues are very difficult to handle and need much advanced planning. For example issues like ODS waste disposal and management of ODS banks in equipment will gain criticality in the coming years. Besides, continuing increase on HCFC dependence is likely to pose challenges in establishing the base line for 2009-2010 and achieving the 2013 freeze in HCFC consumption and production. Montreal Protocol Parties would need to analyze and assess needs beyond 2010 so that timely responses and mechanisms could be developed and put in place. These are issues that CAP would need to address from now onwards within the framework of decisions that will be taken by the Parties pursuant to MOP Decision XVIII/36.
The CAP work plan has been prepared for 2008 based on:
- he overall compliance framework 2007-2010 based on the above mentioned priorities;
- Experiences gained in the past 6 years in CAP implementation;
- Important milestones of the Protocol of 50% and 85% reduction having been reached and efforts initiated for the next milestone of 2010;
- Non compliance and other decisions of the 19th Meeting of the Parties (16-21 September 2007 in Montreal) and previous Meetings of the Parties;
- Guidance provided through ExCom Decision.52/7
- Guidance from the Compliance Advisory Group meeting on 22 September 2007 in Montreal;
- HCFC Adjustments (MOP Decision XIX/6)
- Consultation with the network countries, Secretariats, implementing Agencies and bilateral partners during the network meeting in Bali (12-14 November 2007).
While CAP teams will place a special focus on countries in actual or potential non-compliance, they shall continue to offer assistance, in support of implementation of on-going and future phase out activities, through the networks, information exchange and policy advisory services. Specific country-by-country assistance proposed in 2008 can be seen at Annex II to the Business Plan for 2008. The assistance will be provided through supporting NOUs to mainstream ozone issues in the national policies, thematic expertise in the CAP team, network meetings, email contacts, facilitating south-south cooperation, programmatic budget, sub-regional dialogues, coordinated country visits and compliance missions. Drawing from the work plan, a tentative country visit plan for 2008 can be seen at Attachment II.
The following will be the priorities in 2008 for the ROAP CAP team.
Enhancing National Capacity Building for compliance:
1. Assist countries in actual or potential non-compliance as per the 19th Meeting of the Parties decisions and 39th Implementation Committee recommendations. The priority countries will be:
Compliance Decisions from 19th MOP:
A. Iran (MOP decision XIX/27) to implement the approved plan of action wherein Iran commits:
(i) To reducing their CTC consumption to no greater than:
- 11.6 ODP-tonnes in 2007;
- Zero ODP-tonnes in 2008, save for essential uses that may be authorized by the Parties;
(ii) To monitoring its existing system for licensing imports and exports of ozone-depleting substances, including import quotas;
Follow up on Plans of Action:
B. Bangladesh to implement the MDI transition strategy to phase out CFC use from the MDI sub sector (MOP decision XVIII/16 and Implementation Committee recommendation 39/4) and Bangladesh for non-compliance with freeze in consumption of TCA (MOP decision XVII/27);
C. Pakistan (MOP decision XVIII/31 and Implementation Committee recommendation 39/27) for non compliance with control measures for CTC
D. Fiji for non compliance with control measures for MB (MOP decision XVII/33 and Implementation Committee recommendation 39/15);
E. Federated States of Micronesia for non compliance with control measures for CFC (MOP decision XVII/32 and Implementation Committee recommendation 39/14);
F. Maldives for non compliance with control measures relating to CFCs (MOP decision XV/37 and Implementation Committee recommendation 39/23);
G. Nepal for non compliance with control measures relating to CFCs (MOP decision XVI/27 and Implementation Committee recommendation 39/25)
In addition to the above, to facilitate compliance the following activities are proposed to be undertaken.
H. CAP 's high-level mission to Republic of Korea to understand Halon supply and demand scenario and provide official report on halon phaseout in Republic of Korea,
I. Visit to North Korea for the verification of ODS production and consumption in coordination with UNIDO,
J. Visit to India to understand the Methyl Bromide consumption controls in QPS applications
2. Assist A5 Parties on prompt data reporting as per the 15th and 16th Meeting of the Parties decision XV/14 (4) , XV/15 (1) and Executive Committee Decision 40/11 (b). The Decision XV/15 is further reiterated in MOP Decision XVI/17 (8-9);
3. Assist countries to fully implement the reporting requirement under Decision VII/16 for destinations for all exports of all ODS and implementation of informal Prior Informed Consent (iPIC) in 2008 with the inclusion of HCFCs also;
4. Assist Brunei and Nepal to ratify London and other Amendments and all other countries to ratify the remaining Amendments;
5. Assist Timor Leste to ratify the Protocol and its Amendments;
6. Assist Ozone Officers to mainstream ozone issues in the priorities of other Line Ministries at the national level through network meetings (like through thematic meeting on MB with national agriculture officers or the 2008 regional MDI thematic meeting with national health officials), workshops and country missions, as well as through encouraging national synergies/policies for chemical based MEAs;
7. Assist LVCs and Sri Lanka to develop transition strategies for phase out of CFC MDIs. In addition, implement transition strategies for CFC MDI phaseout for Bangladesh and Iran as part of approved project with UNDP and UNIDO respectively. CAP has also received a request from India and Pakistan to assist with the implementation of the non-investment component of their transition strategy where UNDP is the Lead Agency.
8. Implement an "early warning system" to inform the Parties of potential non-compliance situations to enable them to take corrective actions to gear up for 2010 control measures;
9. Strengthen the regional informal advisory group on compliance comprising of Implementing Agencies, Secretariats and bilaterals to provide coordinated compliance advise and assistance to countries;
10. Increase regional awareness for compliance through implementation of the regional awareness action plan. During 2008, the action plan 2003-2007 will be critically evaluated and an action plan for the critical period 2008-2010 will be developed with assistance from the Regional information Officer and a few media experts.
11. Address issues of illegal trade through awareness, information exchange, regional and sub regional cooperation between countries and enforcement organisations and integrated (covering several MEAs) training. Strengthen the operation of the "Sky Hole Patching" and formal structure for the Regional Partner's Forum to strengthen MOP Decision XVII/16, sub para 7 and MOP Decision XIX/12. 2008 will also be a critical year to implement the new Regional Enforcement Networking project funded by SIDA and integration of ODS enforcement work with UNODC Border Liaison project. The PEO will also develop an overall framework and strategy for enforcement for the Asia and Pacific region during 2008. This will complement the current workplan on issues related to enforcement.