UNDP - Chemicals Management

Ozone Layer Protection & Chemicals Management

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Chemicals represent a vital element of human development, affecting virtually all sectors of human activity. Increasingly however, it is recognized that the poor management of chemicals adversely affects human health and the environment, compromising disproportionately the urban and the rural poor, particularly women and children.

UNDP thus promotes sound management of chemicals (SMC) as an important aspect of our work to reduce global poverty and promote human health. We advocate for the importance of integrating chemicals management priorities into national development policies and plans and help countries obtain the necessary resources to improve their chemicals management regimes in the following areas:

Phasing out Ozone-Depleting Substances (ODS): Protecting the Ozone Layer, safeguarding the global climate and achieving compliance with the Montreal Protocol
Reducing and eliminating releases of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) under the Stockholm Convention
Incorporating Sound Management of Chemicals into MDG-based plans in support of SAICM
Reducing and preventing chemical pollution of international waters

What's New

UNDP and Climate Change - Brazil: Low Carbon Future

In Brazil, UNDP is working with the Minister of Environment and private and public partners across 26 states on an unprecedented nation-wide initiative to prevent dangerous chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from being released into the atmosphere. Through the collection of CFCs from equipment being maintained or replaced, the programme developed a network of companies to capture and recycle CFCs as a valuable asset. In addition, UNDP worked with the lead home appliance producer to launch new, CFC-free and energy efficient appliances and bring financial assistance from the Multilateral Fund.

Based on the energy efficiency legislation passed in 2000, the Brazilian government fomented a model where power distribution companies can exchance old and inefficient refrigerators in low-income families for new ones, leading to a 20 percent drop in their energy costs and preventing the release of dangerous gases. UNDP is also helping both public and private sector partners to find alternative sources of funds to sustain those initiatives, from the fridge manufacture phase to the end of its life cycle, including the destruction of CFCs, which are also powerful green house gases, contained in fridge insulation foam.

For more information on UNDP & Climate Change: Getting Results, click here

UNDP Issues Paper: The Facility for Additional Income (October 2009) - UNDP Inputs on Carbon Markets as a Potential Financing Source

At the request of the Executive Committee to the Multilateral Fund, the Fund Secretariat has been exploring the possibility of a Facility for Additional Income (‘The Facility’) to address climate benefits related to the Montreal Protocol’s activities. At the request of the Multilateral Fund Secretariat, UNDP has prepared an Issues Paper on the role of carbon markets as a financing source for the Facility.

Given their current size and growth potential, UNDP believes the exploration of the global carbon markets as a source of co-financing for climate benefits is of much interest for the Montreal Protocol community.

The comments provided in this Issues Paper are given with the objective of identifying which steps would be necessary to successfully achieve co-financing by the carbon markets.

The Issues Paper is organized as follows:

In Section 1, some key considerations for the Facility with regard to the carbon markets are set out.
In Section 2, UNDP’s proposal for accessing the carbon markets, the ODS Climate Facility, is described.
In the Annex, for ease of reference, certain key terms in the carbon markets are explained.

The current design of the Facility remains at a preliminary stage. If the specific goal of co-financing in the carbon markets is to be successfully achieved by the Facility, UNDP believes that it will be necessary to fully address the considerations set out in Section 1. As such, it is hoped that the detailed description of the ODS Climate Facility, which is expressly designed to access the carbon markets as a financing source, can be helpful as the design process moves forward.

Download here the “UNDP Issues Paper: The Facility for Additional Income – UNDP Inputs on Carbon Markets as a potential Financing Source”

Phasing Out Ozone Depleting Substances: Protecting the Ozone Layer and Safeguarding the Global Climate

In the phase-out of Ozone Depleting Substances to protect the ozone layer and the global climate, UNDP plays an important role through e.g. supporting the phase out HCFCs, management and destruction of ODS Banks and combining and sequencing different sources of finance for ozone layer and climate protection. For more information, please download the booklet: “Phasing Out Ozone Depleting substances: Protecting the Ozone Layer and Safeguarding the Global Climate.”

UNDP’s Role in Managing ODS Banks and Financing Opportunities

At its 57th meeting in March 2009 the Multilateral Fund approved six pilot projects for ODS bank destruction. UNDP will be implementing two of these, one in South America (Brazil) and one in Africa (Ghana). These pilot projects will be instrumental in helping to determine the economic feasibility of collection and destruction strategies, and their results will help identify and secure funding necessary to collect and destroy ODS banks on a larger scale.

In Brazil, UNDP has played a key role in the recovery and secure management of refrigerant fluids from old refrigerators – often discarded as a result of refrigerators replacements programmes. UNDP will also support the next essential step - ODS destruction, starting with a MLF funded pilot destruction project that will be crucial in finding solutions to technical, financial, regulatory and institutional barriers that could hinder the rapid adoption of energy efficient and low GWP appliances. For more information download here the “Early Retirement of Refrigerators and ODS Banks Management/Destruction in Brazil” information brochure.

Ghana – Integrated Plan to address market transformation, HCFC Phase-Out and ODS waste

In Ghana UNDP will be supporting the implementation of an Integrated Plan with the aim to optimize coordination and ensure coherence among its components: a GEF funded programme on Market Transformation, a MLF funded HCFC Phase-Out Management Plan (HPMP) and a MLF-funded Pilot Project on ODS Waste as well as proposals related to carbon financing and other sources of finance. The plan’s ultimate objective is to bring economic, social and environmental benefits to the people of Ghana through the scaling up of energy efficient appliances with low global warming potential (GWP). For more information on the Integrated Plan, download the “Integrated Plan for Energy Efficiency, Climate Mitigation and ODS Reduction for the Refrigeration Sector in Ghana.”