Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 5 • Number 36 • 23rd October 2001

Developing Countries Scrutinised At Meeting on Ozone Depleting Substances

Do More

Subscribe to Bridges

* required

Email Address: *

Country: *
Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua And Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas, The Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, Democractic Republic of the Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Croatia (Hrvatska) Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Islands Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia, The Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong S.A.R. Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea Korea, North Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau S.A.R. Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, The New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua new Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Island Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts And Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent And The Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia And The South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard And Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad And Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks And Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City State (Holy See) Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands (British) Virgin Islands (US) Wallis And Futuna Islands Yemen Yugoslavia Zambia Zimbabwe

Employment Sector: *

First Name:

Last Name:

Organisation:

Enter the letters shown above:*

Download this issue

See also

The 13th Meeting of the Parties (MOP-13) to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer on 16 – 19 October convened in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Participants from 108 countries attended the meeting, including government officials, UN agencies and international and non-governmental organisations (for details on MOP-12, see BRIDGES Weekly, 19 December 2000 ). Given the absence of political will to negotiate new provisions, MOP-13 focused on solid ground, including the implementation of existing commitments. However, the meeting brought the Protocol process into a new era by conducting a first review of developing countries’ compliance with the obligations set forth under the Agreement. Thus far developing countries have been exempt from such reviews.

Background

Increasing evidence of depletion of the ozone layer led to the adoption of the Montreal Protocol in September 1987, in an international effort to phase out the production and consumption of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other ozone depleting chemicals. The Protocol, often cited as the most successful multilateral environmental agreement (MEA) to date, contains several trade- restrictive measures regarding the chemicals it seeks to reduce, and is thus involved in ongoing discussions on the possible incompatibility between WTO Agreements and MEAs containing trade restrictive measures. For further information on the MEA - trade interface, see BRIDGES Weekly, 3 July 2000.

Mixed results from developing countries

The major significance of MOP-13 related to a first compliance review of developing countries’ initial ozone depleting substances (ODS) control. With these ODS almost totally phased out in the industrialised world, the continued success of the Montreal Protocol will hereafter largely depend on developing countries’ capacity to comply with their obligations.

The review indicated that most developing countries are complying with the Protocol; however, 25 of 136 developing countries increased their consumption of ODS in 1999, while one increased its production. Countries found to not be in compliance with their obligations were explicitly cited as such in a decision by the Protocol’s Implementation Committee. While named countries were unhappy with the "name and shame" attitude associated to the decision, it was adopted without amendments.

In relation to compliance issues, several developing countries, as well as UNEP Deputy Executive Director Shafqat Kakakhel, highlighted impediments to developing country compliance, such as the low cost of CFCs, the high cost of alternatives, and the continued export of CFC- based products to developing countries.

Others stressed the critical importance of the provision of financial assistance through the Protocol’s Multilateral Fund in order to enable developing countries to make the transition to ozone-safe technologies. In this regard, the Colombo meeting agreed on terms of reference for a study that is intended to help governments determine the Fund’s future replenishment levels for 2003 - 2005. The Parties also agreed to conduct an evaluation of the Fund’s performance. The replenishment of the Fund will be negotiated at MOP-14 next year.

A major global challenge identified during MOP-13 was illegal trade. Smuggling of ODS and ODS-containing equipment were cited as constituting impediments to the implementation of the Protocol, and illegal production was declared at least partially responsible for keeping CFC prices low. However, no decision was taken in relation to this issue.

The 14th Conference of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol is scheduled to meet in Nairobi at the UNEP headquarters in November 2002.

For a detailed summary of the proceedings, visit IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin at: http://www.iisd.ca/ozone/mop13/.

"Summary of the thirteenth meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer," EARTH NEGOTIATIONS BULLETIN, Vol. 19, No. 17, 22 October 2001; "Ozone layer: Conference sets global agenda for protection measures," UN WIRE, 22 October 2001; ICTSD Internal Files.