Workshop on HFC management
Opening statement
Paris, 11.7.2014
Dear Deputy Executive Director of UNEP,
Distinguished delegates, Members of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol,
Dear co-chairs and members of the Assessment Panels,
Representatives of NGOs and the private sector,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning
Many times in my professional life, I have reflected on the fine line between substance and process, between our objectives and the means we use to achieve those objectives.
How our sense of urgency to address the challenges we face, shape the processes by which we seek to overcome them.
Good causes can be held hostage by bad processes and good and democratic processes can fail because of lack of substance.
I have therefore reached the conclusion that there can be little success without a good process; there will only be poor processes without good substance.
The whole issue of sustainability rests upongood and engaging relations between governments, the private sector, NGOs, major and minor stakeholders.
The health and strength of these institutions, be they government, corporate, non-governmental, or intergovernmental bodies rely on processes which are built on trust.
Trust to get the job done.
Trust to deliver fairly.
Trust to provide for stakeholders.
And in the History of the Montreal Protocol, we can see Trust and Process embodied together. The Promise of the Montreal Protocol is a global common good, a healthy and protected ozone layer. Your work until now has been built on trust, a trust that has seen the Parties agree the same commitments, bound by different timelines to deliver them, across continents, cultures, languages and time zones.
The Montreal Protocol has exemplified the productive use of the best scientific and technical information available to handle policy challenges. The work of the Montreal Protocol’s Assessment Panelshas enriched both formal and informal discussions among Parties. And it is based upon this available scientific and technical information that Parties have been able to reach decisions.
The three assessment panels, the SAP, the TEAP and the EEAP in this opening session, will give us factual presentations of the latest scientific information on ozone layer depletion, on the current production and consumption patterns of HFCs and on their effect on the biosphere in order for you all to participate, engage and contribute to an informed discussion.
An informed discussion in an informal and open manner could broaden the tools available to narrow down and provide possible options for bridging different perspectives and points of view, contributing to four parameters that could define the outcome of the workshop:
- To continue the spirit of cooperation and consensus building that has been the hallmark of the Montreal Protocol.
- To incrementally build trust in order for all different approaches, ideas, and positions to be clearly expressed, defined and respected.
- To isolate and crisply define the remaining issues to be discussed.
- To generate possible options for bridging the diverse views through subsequent discussions.
With these four objectives in our mind and with the overall task of delivering a successful process that will facilitate you all to express your views in a non-formal setting and engagein a free and open discussion, I have the honour and the pleasure to invite the Deputy Executive Director of UNEP, Mr Ibrahim Thiaw to set the tone for our workshop.
Thank you
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