Statement by the Chair of the Executive Committeeof the

Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol to the

26th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol

Paris, 17-21 November 2014

Mr. President, distinguished delegates,

On behalf of the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund, I am pleased to report to the 26thMeeting of the Parties on the relevant decisions takenat its 71st, 72nd and 73rd meetings.

Mr. President, in my statement today I will share some of the significant achievements during the reporting period. I would kindly request you and dear delegates to refer to document 26/8 of the 26th meeting of the Parties which includes full information on policy matters; projects, their implementation and monitoring; and business planning, administrative and financial matters.

Bearing in mind the target of 10per cent reduction in the baseline consumption and production of HCFCs for 1 January 2015, intensive work has continued during the period under review on preparing and monitoring the implementation of HCFC phase-out management plans referred to as HPMPs and of an HCFC production phase-out management plan that is called by its acronym asHPPMP.

During the reporting period, the number of countries with approved HPMPs increased to 140. To-date, approved consumption sector projects represent 26 per cent of the baseline for consumption of Article 5 countries that receive support from the Fund.In approving HPMPs, the Committee has paid careful attention to the alternatives to HCFCs that minimize environmental impacts, in particular impacts on climate. Only five countries have not yet been in a position to submit an HPMP for approval.I am delighted to report that these approvals include the secondtranche of the HPPMP for China, the world’s largest producer of HCFCs. The work of the Executive Committee during this reporting period covered the approval of 337 activities and a funding value of $205 million.

Mr. President,I would like to highlight the progress with respect to HCFC policy issues:

  • Pursuant to decision XXV/5 of the Twenty-fifth Meeting of the Parties,the Executive Committee deliberatedon whether to consider additional demonstration projects to validate lowglobalwarmingpotential alternatives and technologies. In this regard, itdecided to consider at its 75thand76thmeetings proposals for such demonstration projects based on project preparation requests to be considered at the next meeting of the Committee. Up to $10millionwill be available to fund these projects.
  • A substantial body of information was prepared regarding minimizing the adverse climate impacts of HCFC phase-out in the refrigeration servicing sector. Bilateral and implementing agencies were requested to consider this information when assisting Article 5 countries in the preparation and implementation of activities in the refrigeration servicing sector in the framework of their HPMPs.
  • Guidelines for funding the preparation of stage II of HPMPs were approved at the 71st meeting and implementing agencies proceeded immediately with the submission of requests at the 72ndand 73rdmeetings.Thirty countries now have funding in place to prepare the second stage of their HPMPs.
  • Discussions on criteria for funding the second stage of HPMPs took place at the 72nd and 73rd meetings, and included, amongst others, deliberations onthe need to address conversions in small and medium-sized enterprises. Although the Executive Committee was unable to reach consensus on the criteria, the discussion will continue at its next meeting. The lack of guidelines, however, does not prevent the submission and approval of stage II of HPMPs. I am very pleased to report that in fact the first stage II HPMP was approved at the Committee’s meeting last week.
  • Following three independent technical reviews of the Multilateral Fund Climate Impact Indicator,the Fund Secretariat was requested to finalize it taking in account the reviews and the fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
  • Although the Committee considered additional activities to maximize climate benefits in the HCFC production at its 72nd meeting, it was unableto reach a consensus on this matter.

Mr. President, you mayrecall that the Executive Committee held two meetings instead of three in 2014.Following a review of this arrangement at the 73rd meeting last week,the Committee agreed to continue convening two meetings per year from 2015 onwards with the possibility of holding an additional brief meeting if required between meetings to consider project proposals.

IMPLEMENTING AGENCIES

Now Mr. President, I would like to briefly address the main achievements of the implementing agencies of the Multilateral Fund during this reporting period:

UNDP

In 2014, UNDP assisted 44 countries with the implementation of the first stage of their HPMPs. UNDP also assisted 18 countries in developing requests for preparatory assistance for the second stage of their HPMPs. Significant progress was achieved in the implementation of demonstration projects to assess the viability of HCFC replacement technologies with low global warming potential in the manufacture of small-sized commercial air source chillers and heat pumps, in the manufacture of extruded polystyrene foam, and for cleaning in the manufacture of medical devices. This is the first Meeting of the Parties where Mr. Jacques Van Engel’s attending in his capacity of the Director of UNDP’s Montreal Protocol Unit. He has asked me to convey to delegates his strong desire to continue supporting the efforts of countries in implementing the Montreal Protocol together with all partners.

UNEP

UNEP through its Compliance Assistance Programme assisted all 148 Article 5 Parties to comply with their Montreal Protocol obligations, including both very low volume and very large ODS-consuming countries, 48 Least Developed Countries, 38 Small Island Developing States and a number of countries facing postconflict or post-disaster challenges. UNEP assisted more than 100 countries through their HPMPs, most of which are jointly implemented with other implementing agencies, and provided 104 countries with institutional strengthening support. UNEP also provided Regional Networks, South-South cooperation, capacity-building activities and global information clearinghouse services, all with an emphasis on encouraging low-GWP, energy efficient technologies in the refrigeration servicing sector and safe use of flammable refrigerants. UNEP and UNIDO cooperated closely on a demonstration project that promotes low-GWP refrigerants for the air-conditioning sector in high ambient temperature countries in West Asia.

UNIDO

UNIDO iscurrently implementing HPMPs in 68 countries.Significant progress has been achieved for these countries to comply with the 2015 HCFC reduction target under the Protocolincluding newstage I of HPMPs for two countries, a stage II of an HPMP for one country, and tranches of approved multi-year agreements for 20 countries were approved. Furthermore, UNIDO provided assistance to countries in the area of methyl bromide phase-outin order to support countries to meet the 100 per cent methyl bromide phase-out target in 2015.Also during the reporting period, UNIDO welcomed Mr. Stephan Sicars as the new director of its Montreal Protocol division.

The World Bank

World Bank partner countries made good progress in implementing stageI of HPMPs, with most in the midst of converting HCFC-based manufacturing to alternative technologies. Todate, more than $72 million in Multilateral Fund grants have been committed to meet and sustain their HCFC consumption freeze.Of enormous import to all Parties is the recent announcement by China that it will close five HCFC production lines that will result in the permanent closure of 88,000 tonnes of HCFC production capacity.An aggregate reduction of 93 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent will be achieved from this HCFC production closure and from avoidance of HFC by-product emissions at two plants which is roughly equal to eliminating annual emissions of 19.5 million passenger vehicles.

Mr. President, distinguished delegates.

I would like to take this opportunity to address the members of the 2014 Executive Committee, the Multilateral Fund Secretariat and all the implementing agencies, and express my sincere thanks to them for their hard work and commitment to the goals of the Montreal Protocol. I believe that the Multilateral Fund hasperformed at a very high level. Moreover, in doing so, the Fund has not only met its mandate to assist Article 5 countries in their obligations to protect the ozone layer, but has also provided co-benefits in protecting our climate.

As Chair of the Executive Committee for 2014 I take immense pride in our collective achievements and success.

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