Climate Change and Chemicals Management

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In addition to depleting the ozone layer, most ozone depleting substances are also powerful greenhouse gases. Technical and scientific assessment panels under the ozone protection and climate change regimes have noted that the global decline in ODS emissions as a result of activities undertaken in support of the Montreal Protocol have resulted in greenhouse gas reductions equivalent to several billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

These enormous reductions make the Montreal Protocol a key contributor to the global fight against climate change. Up to its 20th anniversary in September 2007, the Montreal Protocol had succeeded in facilitating the sustainable phaseout of over 95 percent of the ozone depleting substances it set out to control. However, challenges still remain, such as the continued production of ODS, the illegal trade in these substances, the escalating increase in production and consumption of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), and the steady growth of ODS stockpiles (“banks”). The unsound disposal of ODS in banks can potentially jeopardize the ultimate repair of the ozone layer and pose significant threats to the global climate.

These challenges moved the Parties to the Montreal Protocol to take important decisions in September 2007 that led to an accelerated phase-out schedule for HCFCs (Decision XIX/6), and to also urge its Parties and the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol (MLF) to take action with respect to the recovery and destruction of ODS banks.

Phasing out HCFCs

The accelerated HCFC phase-out schedule will not only contribute to an earlier repair of the ozone layer but will also result in mitigation of emissions amounting to about 16 GtCO2-eq.

The first two HCFC control steps are a 2013 “freeze” of HCFC production and consumption (the baseline being the average of 2009 and 2010) and a subsequent reduction of 10% by 2015. In order to achieve these reductions, the implementing and bilateral agencies, with financial assistance from the MLF, are helping countries to prepare and implement their HCFC Phase-out Management Plans (HPMPs).

UNDP is assisting partner countries in complying with the HCFC consumption freeze and the 10% reduction targets. More...

Managing ODS banks

Preventing emissions of significant quantities of ODS from existing stockpiles, and from products that are discarded because they are no longer useful, or because they are replaced in connection with energy efficiency programmes could result in mitigation of emissions amounting to about 4 to 5 GtCO2-eq as estimated by the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP).

Against this background the Montreal Protocol Parties agreed in 2008 to instruct the Multilateral Fund to finance pilot projects for the recovery and destruction of ODS banks as soon as possible. Pilot projects will be instrumental in helping to determine the economic feasibility of collection and destruction strategies, and their results will help to identify and secure funding necessary to collect and destroy ODS banks on a larger scale.

UNDP assists partner countries in the preparation and implementation of pilot projects that ultimately aim to collect, recover and dispose of ODS contained in banks. More...