Phasing Out Ozone Depleting Substances and Safeguarding the Global Climate

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Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) are man-made chemicals that, when released into the atmosphere, can cause the depletion of the Ozone Layer. This leads to increased levels of ultraviolet radiation reaching the earth's surface, which results in higher rates of skin cancer, eye cataracts and damage to people's immune systems. It also diminishes the productivity of food crops and reduces levels of plankton in the ocean.

Since 1987 the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer has sought to reverse past damage done to the Ozone Layer by supporting efforts to eliminate the consumption and production of ODS. With the financial support of the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol, the Global Environment Facility and bi-lateral donors, UNDP assists developing countries and countries with economies in transition in complying with the Montreal Protocol's control measures.

UNDP Activities Supporting Compliance with the Montreal Protocol

UNDP is working with a broad range of partners, including governments, industry, representative organizations such as technical associations, agricultural institutes, academia and civil society, in helping developing countries and countries with economies in transition to adopt and implement strategies that preserve the ozone layer while safeguarding the global climate.

To date, UNDP has been managing a global programme of over US$ 500 million to provide financial and technical assistance to more than 100 countries, enabling them to phase out the use of ODS in activities such as foam production, refrigeration and air-conditioning manufacturing and servicing, aerosol and solvents applications, fire protection, and crop fumigation. In total these projects will prevent over 63,000 tonnes of ODS from being released into the earth’s atmosphere.

UNDP assists its partners in complying with Montreal Protocol targets through:

Capacity Development – Assisting governments to develop more effective national policies and programmes to meet ODS elimination targets, including development of country programmes related to ODS, institutional strengthening, and performance-based national phase-out management plans.
Technical Assistance, Training and Demonstration Programmes – Providing technical support and information dissemination regarding ozone and climate friendly technologies and alternative substances to ODS. This is done through practical, handson training sessions and in-field demonstrations designed to build technical and economic confidence in alternative substances and processes.
Technology Transfer – Facilitating access to the best available technologies and related technical assistance to allow governments and enterprises to adopt alternative production processes and ozone/climate friendly technologies.
Increased Access to Funding – Supporting countries in securing financial support from the MLF to meet compliance with the Montreal Protocol, and assisting in identifying and mobilizing additional financial resources to address climate co-benefits from the GEF, carbon markets, bilateral donors, and other sources.

Phasing out HCFCs

HCFCs (Hydrochlorofluorocarbons) are chemicals that are also controlled by the Montreal Protocol. Their production and consumption was targeted for phase-out by 2040. While some HCFCs, such as HCFC-22, were traditionally used as refrigerants, many HCFCs were introduced as substitutes for ozone-damaging chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the early 1990s and were instrumental in allowing a smooth transition from CFCs. However, at the time it was acknowledged that these chemicals with considerably lower ozone depleting potential were transitional and had to eventually be phased out because many HCFCs have high global warming potential, some up to 2000 times that of CO2, and thus contribute significantly to climate change.

HCFC production and consumption increased dramatically over the past two decades, mainly due to the economic growth experienced in developing countries and resulting market penetration of appliances using HCFCs, such as air conditioners. With the escalating use of HCFCs, the threat to the ozone layer and the global climate became more clear and imminent.

Consequently, in 2007 a decision was adopted by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol to set an accelerated phase-out schedule for HCFCs (Decision XIX/6), and the Montreal Protocol was adjusted. The adjustment 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 control steps under the adjusted Montreal Protocol 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 through:

Capacity Development – Enhancing countries’ capacity for: undertaking (sub)sector-level HCFC production and consumption surveys and situation analyses on HCFC import, export/re-export and distribution channels; forecasting HCFC production and consumption patterns, analyzing current compliance status and preparing consumption-based future compliance projections; undertaking prioritization with respect to HCFC phase-out and developing comprehensive strategies and action plans for HCFC phase-out management.
Validation and Demonstration of HCFC Alternative Technologies - Providing technical support and information with respect to alternative technologies and substances, taking into consideration ozone, climate and energy benefits; facilitating engagement of industrial and commercial enterprises in discussions related to alternative technology developments/assessments; and validating new low carbon technologies for use in developing countries.
Policy and Regulatory Interventions – Undertaking analysis of legal and regulatory frameworks governing ODS and specifically HCFCs, such as licensing and import/export controls; identifying gaps and deficiencies in existing regulatory frameworks and recommending changes to maintain consistency with Montreal Protocol obligations.
Institutional Capacity Building – Analyzing existing administrative practices and institutional structures controlling ODS, and specifically HCFCs, by assessing gaps, deficiencies and needs; and recommending changes and identifying resources available/necessary to meet Montreal Protocol obligations.
Increased Access to Funding – Supporting countries in securing financial support from the MLF to meet compliance with the Montreal Protocol, and assisting in identifying and mobilizing additional financial resources to address climate co-benefits from the GEF, carbon markets, bilateral donors, and other sources.

Managing ODS banks

In the global fight against climate change, all economically and technically feasible measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and other climate forcing agents are being actively pursued. Paramount among these measures is the opportunity to prevent 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. The Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) estimated that currently in developing countries 4 to 5 GtCO2-eq are contained in “ODS Banks”. If not properly managed and/or destroyed, these ODS will harm the ozone layer and climate system.

Against this background the Montreal Protocol delegates agreed in 2008 to instruct the MLF to fund pilot projects for the recovery and destruction of ODS banks as soon as possible. Pilot projects (some of them already approved by the MLF) 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 through provision of:

Capacity Development – Enhancing countries’ capacity to undertake surveys on the location, size and types of ODS banks, and prioritize accessible ODS banks for replacement programmes.
Technical Assistance – Providing technology solutions with respect to the collection of contaminated ODS, related logistics for storage and transport, identification and selection of ODS disposal technologies, and determination of associated costs.
Policy and Regulatory Approaches – Improving national strategies with respect to the collection, management and disposal of ODS banks; establishing legislative measures as well as policy and regulatory interventions to support scaling up of ODS disposal activities; developing incentives for appliance de-manufacturing and recycling management systems.
Increased Access to Funding – Supporting countries in: identifying and accessing funding sources to sustainably manage and dispose of ODS banks; developing sustainable business models to recover ODS from banks; exploring possibilities for accessing carbon credit finance and obtaining greenhouse gas emissions reduction credits; and establishing financial partnerships.

UNDP and the Carbon Finance Agenda

Over the last five years, UNDP has been an active participant in the carbon finance arena, and in June 2007 launched the MDG Carbon Facility. The facility offers project development and management services to emission reduction projects, and operates within the frameworks of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI), the market-based mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol that allow developed countries to meet their compliance targets by financing greenhouse gas emission reduction projects located in other countries.

The MDG Carbon Facility is an innovative mechanism for harnessing the vast resources of the carbon market in order to bring long-term sustainable development and poverty reduction benefits to a wider range of developing countries and project types, particularly in those countries that are currently under-represented in the carbon market.

One of the areas in which UNDP’s MDG Carbon Facility is seeking to expand its activities is the rapidly increasing voluntary emission reduction market. An expansion of its scope is foreseen with respect to non-Kyoto gases, in particular the funding of suitable projects that aim to phase-out ozone depleting substances, an area in which UNDP has long-standing expertise. UNDP’s current role as Lead Agency for a significant number of countries seeking to phase out HCFCs puts it in a unique position to help countries identify and develop appropriate greenhouse gas emission reduction projects while building market credibility and managing risks appropriately.