South East Asia

SEA Network map The South East Asia (SEA) Network was the first network established in 1993 with support from Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (Sida), based on the experience of the Nordic countries. Starting from 2010, the SEA Network has been supported by the Multilateral Fund under UNEP, Compliance Assistance Programme (CAP). This further mainstreamed the SEA Network in UNEP CAP along with nine other regional networks.

Currently, there are 11 Article 5 countries in the SEA Network: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam. Two non-Article 5 countries, Australia and Sweden support the Network.

Achievements

The SEA Network enhances the ability of National Ozone Officers (NOOs) to design and implement phase-out/phase-down policies, strategies, and programmes that are appropriate to the conditions in their countries. The Network has strengthened the capabilities and confidence of the NOOs, and thereby identified additional stakeholders under the Kigali Amendment, strengthened collaboration with national stakeholders, and accelerated the formulation of policies and regulations in the member countries. This Network has been promoting the exchange of experiences and sharing of information and approaches among the network members, developed country partners, technical experts, the Ozone Secretariat, the Multilateral Fund Secretariat, Implementing Agencies, and other organizations and individuals experienced with Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) phase-out and Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) phase down under the Kigali Amendment.

The SEA Network countries have already phased out the consumption of chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs) since 2010. Hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) consumption in the SEA Network is declining from the freeze level in 2013. Based on the 2021 HCFC consumption, the SEA Network has achieved a 64% reduction from the HCFC baseline level (average consumption in 2009-2010), well in advance of their legal obligations under the Montreal Protocol. As of November 2022, six SEA Network countries ratified the Kigali Amendment: Lao PDR (2017), Viet Nam (2019), Malaysia (2020), Cambodia (2021), Singapore (2022) and the Philippines (2022).

Highlights

From 2021 to date, the following regional/sub-regional events were organized for the SEA Network. Background information on these events and past ones is available in the OzonAction Meeting Portal.

2023

Parallel Network Meeting of the Southeast Asia National Ozone Officers and Green Customs Workshop back-to-back with the Twinning National Ozone and Customs Officers Workshop on ODS/HFC Trade Control and Reporting, Halong City, Vietnam, 13-17 March 2023

2022

2021

Strengthening ODS Trade Control:

Voluntary sharing and exchanging of information sheets on official importers/exporters through iPIC facilitated by UNEP OzonAction. Sharing information on annual ODS trade led to bilateral cooperation to address data differences between importing and exporting countries.
SEA Network has strengthened ODS/HFC trade control through digitalization of ODS/HFC licensing and quota system i.e. development of a standalone electronic licensing and quota system or the development of an ODS/HFC module under the National Single Window System, which interfaces the Customs Automation System. Digitalization has improved not only the application, approval, and issuance of quota and permit/license to trade controlled substances but has also strengthened data tracking and monitoring of trade data through the real-time database. It has also minimized data differences between sources, which facilitates data reconciliation before data reporting and makes countries ready for HFC trade control under the Kigali Amendment.
SEA Network is exploring “integrated approaches” that utilize the existing mechanisms within the country, especially of the Customs Authority to further strengthen enforcement of 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.
Establishment of specific Harmonized System (HS) code for HFCs and blends to facilitate effective data monitoring and reporting of HFCs: 10 SEA countries are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which adopted the regional HS code known as “ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN)”. UNEP OzonAction worked closely with the SEA Network countries to assign national digits to specify the HS code for HFCs and blends under the AHTN22 to facilitate SEA countries to accurately track and monitor the actual import of HFCs.
Importer and customs broker training: The SEA Network recognized the importance of education for importers and customs brokers to be aware of the implications of misdeclaration and to build their capacity to accurately declare descriptions of HS code and country of origin during Customs clearance process. This initiative would address misdeclaration/incomplete declarations of ODS/HFC shipment, which undermines effective data monitoring and reconciliation.

Management of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (RAC) Servicing Sector: Article 5 Parties under the Montreal Protocol are making efforts to sustain the phase-out of HCFCs and, in light of the Kigali Amendment, adopting lower GWP alternative refrigerants, maintaining and enhancing energy-efficiency safely through:

Policy options to effectively regulate the RAC informal servicing sector – the SEA Network countries have worked with national stakeholders to explore the existing legislative framework/regulations to effectively manage the RAC informal servicing sector such as requiring RAC workshops to employ certified RAC technicians as pre-requisite condition to register/renew business licenses and requiring RAC workshops to be equipped with tools/ equipment necessary for good servicing practices etc.
Sustaining capacity building of RAC technicians on good servicing practices to ensure their competency skills for reducing the use and emission of HCFCs, enhancing/maintaining energy efficiency and safely using low GWP alternative refrigerants during 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) and development of recognized prior-learning (RPL) to enable skilled and experienced RAC technicians to be recognized under the TVET system.
For countries where TVET does not offer RAC courses, continuing good servicing practices training and promoting the development of comprehensive training and competency-based certification programme.
Application and database of certified RAC technicians – some SEA Network countries are advancing the management of RAC informal servicing sector through the digitalization approach. The registration for the training and certification programme could be completed online to attract more participants to the programme. This has enabled the authorities to have a comprehensive database of applicants, trainees, and certified technicians, which could also be accessible for public use.

Initial obligations under the Kigali Amendment: All SEA Network countries that are Parties to the Kigali Amendment fulfilled initial obligations under the Amendment e.g. timely reporting of HFC consumption of the baseline year and timely establishment of the licensing system for HFCs under Article 4B, paragraph 2bis of the Montreal Protocol.

South-South Cooperation: The SEA Network has had very good South-South cooperation initiatives. Through close collaboration with National Ozone Units (NOUs)/countries that have experience on specific issues, UNEP successfully facilitated several types of south-south cooperation to share practical experiences and lessons learned in the following areas:

Capacity building of NOUs and national stakeholders in the implementation of the Montreal Protocol;
Good practices, and customs and enforcement training;
Development of a national training curriculum and certification system;
Development of an e-licensing system for ODS import and export control.

One of the biggest achievements of the Network was the trust that developed between the Ozone Officers through close interaction during the network meetings and south-south cooperation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no physical south-south cooperation. Cooperation would resume more fully in 2023 when travel restrictions are lifted in the region.

Gender mainstreaming: SEA Network has included gender mainstreaming into the Montreal Protocol implementation such as gender data collection, gender awareness-raising, and gender promotion activities and set gender promotion as one of the targets in the activities where possible. Agenda items on gender mainstreaming were included in the SEA Network Meeting both virtually and in-person. Dedicated sessions on gender will also be included in the planned 2023 Network Meetings.

Future Objectives

UNEP OzonAction through CAP is currently supporting the SEA network to phase-out consumption of HCFCs and the ratification of the Kigali Amendment as well as to meet the freeze of HFCs by 1 January 2024 taking to account the emerging challenges as follows:

Higher HFC consumption post COVID-19 pandemic: During the pandemic, the economy in SEA countries was affected to a certain extent, thus leading to a reduction in HFC consumption for the years 2020, 2021 and part of 2022. However, with the easing pandemic and business resuming, HFC consumption is potentially increasing, and therefore it is essential to closely monitor its growth to ensure SEA countries meet the freeze obligation in 2024 while maintaining economic growth.
HFC licensing and quota is more complex than HCFC control: Management of the HFC licensing and quota system would be more complex as countries would need to manage multiple HFCs and blends, which have different GWP values while complying with the national limit in tonnes of CO2 equivalent. Countries need to address this issue in consultation with national stakeholders.
Enforcement of ODS/HFC licensing system: More substances will be controlled after the ratification of the Kigali Amendment, which could be challenging to SEA Network countries. Moreover, given the porous land border in the network, there will be more challenges in preventing unauthorized trade of HFCs in addition to ODSs. Therefore, strengthening the established mechanisms to manage additional substances effectively is required.
Resume engagement with previous stakeholders and establish collaboration with new ones: Under the Kigali Amendment, there is a need to re-engage mobile air-conditioning (MAC) stakeholders who were involved during the phase-out of CFCs. Also, collaboration with newly identified stakeholders, which has never been done during the HCFC phase-out would need to be established.
Parallel HCFC phase-out and HFC phase-down obligations: From 1 January 2024, all SEA Network countries would have to fulfil both HCFC phase-out and HFC phase-down obligations. Given that some sectors are cross-cutting, it is critical for countries to determine a strategy to effectively manage additional responsibilities for HFC phase-down in conjunction with HCFC phase-out.
Managing the RAC Servicing Sector: Like most developing countries, most technicians in the region do not receive proper vocational training, except on-the-job training. Several technicians still do not have the proper skills to install and repair air-conditioners. There is an urgent need to integrate the components of good practices into competency-based certification for servicing technicians especially when lower GWP alternatives are to be introduced.
QPS and non-QPS: Some SEA countries still consume methyl bromide (MBr) in Quarantine and Pre-shipment (QPS) applications. While MBr use for QPS applications is currently exempt under the Montreal Protocol, support is needed for countries to prevent the risk of diversion of QPS to non-QPS applications, which has been banned since 2015.

To address the challenges, UNEP OzonAction uses several approaches to deliver its services to the countries. The following are the future objectives of the SEA network:

Supporting ratification and meeting initial obligations under the Kigali Amendment: UNEP CAP will continue to provide technical and policy support to countries to facilitate the ratification and implementation of the Kigali Amendment. Countries that have ratified the Kigali Amendment will be supported by UNEP CAP to meet their initial obligations under the Amendment.
Parallel HCFC phase-out and HFC phase-down obligations: UNEP CAP will support the SEA Network to determine a strategy to effectively manage new responsibilities for HFC phase-down in conjunction with HCFC phase-out such as identifying policy options for countries to address HFC growth, while sustaining the next HCFC reduction target to achieve 67.5% reduction from the baseline by 1 January 2025.
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 the 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 Authorities in delivering training to importers and customs brokers.

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

Establishment of HFC quota system: UNEP CAP will continue to provide support to SEA Network to customize the HFC quota system suitable for the country context, taking into consideration control measures in tonnes CO2 equivalent as well as linkage of assigned HFC quota with the existing licensing system.
Management of Servicing Sector: UNEP CAP will continue to support the SEA Network countries to formalize both the RAC and MAC servicing sectors through their existing infrastructure and mechanism established within countries. These include:

Exploring regulatory mechanisms such as requiring technicians to be competent before allowing them to perform jobs in servicing workshops and requiring them to be equipped with good servicing tools/equipment for business operations.

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

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 leakages.

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

Gender mainstreaming: UNEP CAP will continue to build the capacity of SEA Network countries to integrate gender into the Montreal Protocol implementation workstream.

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REGIONAL CONTACTS

Mr Pipat Poopeerasupong
Interim Montreal Protocol Regional Coordinator for Southeast Asia

OzonAction CAP team for Asia and Pacific