Penang, Malaysia, 22-25 April 2025 ‒ UNEP’s OzonAction Asia-Pacific Compliance Assistance Programme (CAP) team in collaboration with the Department of Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability of Malaysia organized a Network Meeting of Southeast Asia (SEA) National Ozone Officers (NOOs) in Penang, Malaysia from 22 to 25 April 2025. The meeting aimed to facilitate the Network countries sharing their experience and good practices in various areas under the Montreal Protocol. The CAP team gratefully acknowledges the Multilateral Fund for its generous financial support in organizing this meeting.
The Network Meeting had both plenary and breakout sessions with 26 participants (11 women and 15 men) from ten Network countries, which joined the meeting in person. Also in attendance were resource persons and representatives from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water of Australia, the Ozone Secretariat, the Multilateral Fund Secretariat, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the World Bank, UNEP Cool Coalition, and Government and industry resource persons from Australia, China, Japan, and Malaysia.
The network meeting took place at the most critical time to strengthen the capacity of the NOOs to meet two parallel obligations under the Montreal Protocol, including the 67.5% hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) consumption reduction and the freeze of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) consumption in 2025. The meeting focused on options for suitable low Global Warming Potential (GWP) and energy efficient alternatives to HCFC/HFC to address the challenges of Article 5 countries in the network. It provided a platform for the network countries to learn about the developments in the policy and technical aspects of low-GWP and energy efficient alternatives, share experiences and lessons learned, and better understand how to integrate relevant activities into the HCFC phase-out and HFC phase-down in a holistic approach. Other topics for discussion included updates on Montreal Protocol related meetings, digitalization of licensing systems and reporting, gender mainstreaming, and 2025 CAP services.
The SEA Network countries also paid a site visit to Zun Utara Industry Sdn. Bhd., a manufacturer of commercial refrigerators. Participants observed and learned about the manufacturing process of standalone commercial refrigerators, such as chest freezers, display cabinets which covered both rigid polyurethane insulation panels using cyclopentane technology and refrigeration systems using various refrigerants, including R-290.
“Countries exchanged their challenges on limited information on alternative technology and learned more about low GWP alternatives to HCFC and HFC. This network meeting and the site visit helped us enhance our knowledge on available and suitable alternative technologies that are technically and commercially viable in this region”, said Mr. Nolan B. Francisco, the Philippines’ Supervising Environmental Management Specialist (National Ozone Unit Programme Manager).
The network meeting yielded several key takeaways for the participating countries, including the recent decisions from related meetings, best practices for preventing illegal trade, and experiences in adopting commercially and technically viable low-GWP and energy efficient alternatives in different applications. The meeting allowed UNEP to identify policy and technical measures for strengthening Montreal Protocol institutions and for the adoption of viable low-GWP and energy efficient alternatives to further support network countries as part of CAP services.
UNEP CAP team and the SEA Network countries expressed their gratitude to the Department of Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability of Malaysia, for their hospitality and valuable collaboration in hosting the meeting.
This meeting was organized by the CAP team, Asia and the Pacific Office, as part of its approved 2025 Work Programme under the Multilateral Fund.
For more information:
Mr. Pipat Poopeerasupong
Interim Montreal Protocol Regional Coordinator – Southeast Asia/Pacific Island Countries Network
UNEP, Compliance Assistance Programme (CAP)
Asia and Pacific Office
