Pacific Island Countries Network

PIC Network

The Pacific Island Countries (PICs) were formerly part of the South East Asia and the Pacific (SEAP) Network. In November 2008 at the 56th Meeting of the Executive Committee (ExCom) of the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol, established a separate Regional Network for PICs in accordance with Decision 56/33 of the ExCom. With this decision, the PIC Network became the last regional network among nine regional networks established within UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Compliance Assistance Programme (CAP).

The PIC Network is composed of 14 Article 5 countries and is supported by Australia, a developed country partner that has continuously provided support to the network.

Achievements

Like other Article 5 countries, the PIC Network countries have already phased out the consumption of chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs) since 2010. The PIC Network has been reducing HCFC consumption at a much faster pace than obligations under the Montreal Protocol. The 2021 hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) consumption of 14 PICs represents 91% reduction from the HCFC baseline level (average consumption in 2009-2010) compared to the 35% phase-out obligation. Among these 14 PICs, Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Nauru, and Niue have continued to report zero importation of HCFC consecutively since 2018, which well demonstrates that the PICs do not only accelerate HCFC phase-out, but also sustain their HCFC phase-out achievements.

2022 PIC HCFC Phaseout achievement_graphic

With the above achievements, four PIC countries, i.e. Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Nauru, and Niue have agreed, as part of the support under the HCFC Phase-out Management Plan (HPMP) Stage II, to maintain zero consumption from 2021-2030 followed by Papua New Guinea which has planned to achieve zero HCFC consumption from 2025. The other nine PICs will completely phase-out HCFC consumption by 1 January 2030 but are committed under their HPMP Stage II to accelerate HCFC phase-out much faster than obligations under the Montreal Protocol.

The PIC Network has the unique achievement that 13 out of 14 countries have ratified the Kigali Amendment and the only remaining country is in an advanced stage toward ratification. This demonstrates the Network’s strong political commitment to the mitigation of climate change in solidarity with other countries.

Highlights

During the period 2021 - 2023, the following regional/sub-regional events were successfully organized for the PIC countries in continuation of the achievements previously built for the network.

2023

2022

2021

Policies and Regulations:

UNEP CAP continued to provide policy support to sustain HCFC phase-out achievements in the PIC Network. The PICs either have put in place regulations to ban the import of HCFC-based equipment or have committed to banning it under the HPMP Stage II. Most PICs have regulations to manage the Refrigeration and Air-conditioning (RAC) servicing sector through the license to technicians for handling refrigerants, which is a critical mechanism to ensure that only competent technicians are allowed to install and service RAC equipment.
As most PICs have ratified the Kigali Amendment and therefore need to meet the HFC freeze by 1 January 2024, UNEP CAP facilitated brainstorming to explore potential policy options to assist the PICs in controlling the growth of HFCs in the next few years and to meet obligations under the Kigali Amendment, while sustaining HCFC phase-out efforts.

Strengthening ODS/HFC Trade Control:

The PIC Network voluntarily adopted the Informal Prior Informed Consent (iPIC) facilitated by UNEP OzonAction to control the trade of HCFCs/HFCs, with Fiji taking a leading role in undertaking iPIC for ODS/HFC trade that leads to bilateral cooperation to prevent illegal trade.
The PIC Network further strengthened their Monitoring, Reporting, Verification, and Enforcement (MRVE) of the HFC licensing system. Few countries have digitalized their quota and licensing system i.e. development of a standalone electronic licensing and quota system or the development of ODS/HFC module under the National Single Window System, which interfaces with the Customs Automation Management System. The digitalization not only has streamlined the process for application, approval, and issuance of quota and permit/license for controlled substances trading but also has strengthened tracking and monitoring of trade data through the real-time database. It has also minimized data differences between sources, which facilitates data reconciliation for data reporting and makes countries ready to control HFC trade effectively.
The PIC Network is exploring “integrated approaches” that utilize the existing mechanisms within the country, especially of the Customs Authority to further strengthen enforcement of the licensing system while minimizing workloads to officers such as risk profiling, post-clearance audit, market inspection etc. The integrated approaches would supplement the training of customs and enforcement officers and expand coverage of enforcement beyond the customs checkpoint.
The PIC Network took a proactive step in the preparation of a specific harmonized system (HS) code for HFCs to facilitate HFC data collection and reporting. The network worked with the Oceania Customs Organization (OCO) and UNEP CAP in the preparation of the Pacific Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System 2022 (PACHS22), which was developed in accordance with the classification under the World Customs Organization’s (WCO) 2022 HS version. The approved PACHS22 assigns specific HS codes for HFCs and the most commonly used HFC blends in the region.
Importers and customs brokers training – the PIC Network recognized the importance of educating importers and customs brokers to be aware of the implications of misdeclaration and build their capacity to accurately declare description, HS code, and country of origin during the customs clearance process. This initiative would address misdeclaration/incomplete declaration of ODS/HFC shipment, which undermines effective data monitoring and reconciliation.

Sustaining capacity building of RAC servicing sector: Given that HCFC and HFC consumption in the PICs are only used in servicing sector, the PICs have strengthened the capacity building of RAC servicing technicians to minimize the leakage of controlled substances and to safely adopt new alternatives, which can be flammable through good servicing practices training and competency-based certification to ensure that RAC technicians have competent skills for installation and servicing of RAC equipment using the following approaches:

Institutionalizing good servicing practices into the national training curriculum and certification programmes of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) authority and developing recognition of prior-learning (RPL) to enable skilled and experienced RAC technicians to be recognized under the TVET system.
For countries where TVET system does not offer RAC courses, developing comprehensive training and competency-based certification programmes.

Regional Approach of the Multilateral Fund Project: The PIC Network demonstrated innovative modalities and the advantage of collaborating through the regional approach in the implementation of the Montreal Protocol activities. There are two aspects of the regional approach which has contributed to the success and achievements of the Network:

Collaboration with regional organizations in the region such as Oceania Customs Organization, the Secretariat of Pacific Community, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, and the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency to avail their knowledge, expertise and assist each PIC for the implementation of the Montreal Protocol;
Twelve out of 14 PICs successfully developed and implemented the HPMP through the regional approach, which enables the PICs to share experiences, good practices, and lessons learned with each other. This modality has also been used for the preparation of the Kigali HFC Implementation Plan.

South-South Cooperation: The PIC Network has had very good south-south cooperation initiatives in particular working attachment to experienced National Ozone Units (NOUs). Through close collaboration with NOUs/countries that have extensive experience on specific issues, new NOUs could quickly update their knowledge and skills. UNEP also successfully facilitated other types of south-south cooperation such as sending a resource person from one country to assist another to deliver training on good practices and customs and enforcement.

Gender Mainstreaming: PIC Network has mainstreamed gender into the Montreal Protocol implementation such as collecting gender data, raising gender awareness, and setting gender promotion as one of the targets under MLF projects where possible. Also, its network meetings included an agenda item on gender mainstreaming.

Emerging Challenges and Objectives

UNEP’s OzonAction is currently supporting the PICs to phase out the consumption of HCFCs and to prepare to meet the HFC freeze under the Kigali Amendment. The following summarizes the emerging challenges in the PIC Network.

Frequent rotation of the National Ozone Officer: The PIC Network has faced challenges due to the turnover of National Ozone Officers (NOOs) which leads to implementation delays.
Small deviation can cause non-compliance challenges: Due to the very low level of consumption of HCFCs in the PICs, a small deviation in HCFC import can potentially affect the countries’ status in complying with their phase-out obligations, especially the committed phase-out targets reflected in the Agreement on HPMPs with the Executive Committee.
HFC licensing and quota is more complex than HCFC control: Management of the HFC licensing and quota system would be more complex as countries need to manage multiple HFCs and blends, which have different GWP values while complying with the national limit in tonnes CO2 equivalent. There is a need for countries to address this issue in consultation with national stakeholders.
Enforcement of ODS/HFC licensing system: More substances will be controlled after ratification of the Kigali Amendment, which could be a challenge to PIC Network countries. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen the established mechanisms to manage additional substances effectively.
Fisheries Sector: This sector is the main economy in some PICs and is now highly reliant on R-404A, a very high GWP HFC. Due to the long lifetime of fisheries vessels and the high GWP of R-404A, there is a need to support countries concerning policies, technical assistance, and awareness measures to ensure compliance with future phase-down obligations.
Capacity Building for climate-friendly alternatives: PICs are also Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) and vulnerable to Climate Change. According to SAMOA Pathway, the countries recognized that the phasing out of ODS is resulting in a rapid increase in the use and the emission of HFCs with a high potential for global warming. As a result, countries have given priority to adopting ozone and climate-friendly alternatives to replace HCFC dependent technology. As these alternatives have different characteristics e.g. flammability, toxicity, or high working pressure, there is an urgent need to develop standard operating procedures and national infrastructure in countries to ensure the safe adoption of these alternative technologies.
Parallel HCFC phase-out and HFC phase-down obligations: From 1 January 2024, all PIC network countries would have to fulfill both HCFC phase-out and HFC phase-down obligations. Given some sectors are cross-cutting both HCFC phase-out and HFC phase-down, the countries must determine a strategy to effectively manage new responsibilities for HFC phase-down in conjunction with HCFC phase-out.

To address the challenges, UNEP OzonAction uses several approaches to deliver its services to the countries. The PIC Network will work to pursue the following objectives:

Building and maintaining institutional memory: To address the challenges of the high turn-over of NOOs annually, and in addition, to continue capacity building to accelerate the learning curve of the NOOs through south-south and north-south cooperation, mentoring and sharing the knowledge of more experienced ozone officers with their peers, it is important to explore how to build and maintain the institutional memory to ensure the continuity of the NOU work when new NOOs are appointed.
Sustaining Montreal Protocol compliance targets: While all PICs are in compliance with the Montreal Protocol, there is a high risk of potential non-compliance due to the very low value of consumption. A very small margin of error for quota allocation, management, and reporting of the trade of HCFCs can have an impact on compliance. All PICs will need to stringently monitor all imports and change the modus operandi of collecting, analyzing, and reconciling import statistics and implement more enhanced cooperation between importers, NOUs, Customs Officers, and other national statistic bodies to produce accurate HCFC consumption reporting.
Parallel HCFC phase-out and HFC phase-down obligations: UNEP CAP will support the PIC Network in developing its strategy to effectively manage new responsibilities for HFC phase-down in conjunction with HCFC phase-out such as identifying policy options for assisting countries to address the growth of the HFCs while sustaining the HCFC reduction target.
Enforcement of ODS/HFC licensing system: UNEP CAP will continue to provide needed guidance and support on effective enforcement of the licensing system, legislation, and regulations through the following:

Implementation of integrated approaches to strengthen collaboration with Customs Authorities to supplement training of customs and enforcement officers i.e. risk profiling, post-clearance audit, specific HS code for HFCs, etc.

Strengthening Monitoring, Reporting, Verification and Enforcement (MRVE) by promoting regular import/export data reconciliation among different data sources such as NOUs, licensing authorities, Customs, and importers, etc. to verify the HCFC / HFC consumption for reporting to the Multilateral Fund Secretariat and Ozone Secretariat.

Providing technical support in the design of stand-alone electronic licensing and quota system or ODS/HFC module under the National Single Window

Building capacity of the NOOs/Customs Authority in delivering training to importers and customs brokers

In collaboration with UNEP Law Division, providing support to countries in setting up legal a framework in prosecuting offenders to regulation.

Establishment of HFC quota system: UNEP CAP will continue to support the PIC Network to customize the HFC quota system to fit the country's contexts, taking into consideration the control measure in tonnes CO2 equivalent and the linkage between the assigned HFC quota with the existing licensing system.
Regulating and sustaining Capacity Building of Informal Servicing: UNEP CAP will continue to support the PIC Network countries to formalize both RAC and MAC servicing sectors through their existing infrastructure and mechanisms established within countries. These include:

Integrating good servicing practices into TVET system and implementation of RPL to enable skilled and experienced RAC technicians to be recognized under the TVET system.

Developing comprehensive training and competency-based certification programme for countries where the TVET system does not offer RAC courses.

Building capacity of trainers to deliver good servicing practices and assessors to conduct a competency-based assessment.

Database of inventory of large RAC appliances for effective management of refrigerant leakage.

Integration of energy efficiency issues in the phase-out and phase-down process.

Integrating ODS control into post disasters management: Due to the impact of climate change, the PICs have been experiencing frequent and intense cyclones in recent years. The impact of these cyclones can result in damage to infrastructure, including, for example, hospitals and supermarkets. Countries must integrate ODS control into post-disaster planning and actions to ensure compliance when having to replace damaged RAC equipment.

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REGIONAL CONTACTS

Mr Pipat Poopeerasupong
Interim Montreal Protocol Regional Coordinator for Pacific Island Countries

OzonAction CAP team for Asia and Pacific