Work to Date on the Implementation of Decisions, Overview of Working Documents and Presentation

UNEP/OzL.Pro.26/Bur.1/R.2

UNITED
NATIONS / EP
UNEP/OzL.Pro.26/Bur.1/2
/ United Nations
Environment
Programme / Distr.: General
25 September 2015
Original: English

Bureau of the Twenty-SixthMeeting of the Parties to
the Montreal Protocol on Substances that
Deplete the Ozone Layer

First meeting

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 31 October 2015

Items 3–6of the provisional agenda[*]

Work to date on the implementation of the decisions of the Twenty-Sixth
Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol

Overview of the working documents prepared for the Twenty-Seventh
Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol

Review of the agenda and presentation of a road map for the conduct
of the TwentySeventh Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol

Other matters

Work to date on the implementation of decisions, overview of working documents and presentation of a road map for the conduct of the Twenty-Seventh Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol

Note by the Secretariat

I.Introduction

The Bureau of the Twenty-Sixth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layerwill meet on Saturday, 31 October 2015,at 3 p.m. The present note sets out information on matters relevant to the provisional agenda for the meeting (UNEP/OzL.Pro.26/Bur.1/1): section II summarizes the work to date on the implementation of the decisions adopted by the Twenty-Sixth Meeting of the Parties; section III provides an overview of the working documents prepared for the Twenty-Seventh Meeting of the Parties; and section IV provides information on the provisional agenda and the road map for the conduct of the TwentySeventh Meeting of the Parties.

II.Work to date on the implementation of the decisions of the TwentySixth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (agendaitem3)

A table providinga broad overview of the decisions adopted by the Twenty-SixthMeeting of the Parties and the actions required of and taken by the Secretariat in response thereto is set out in annex I to the present note.

III.Overview of the working documents prepared for the TwentySeventhMeeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (agenda item 4)

A list of working documents prepared for the Twenty-Seventh Meeting of the Parties is set out in annex IIto the present note.Annex III to the present note contains a list of information documents prepared for the Twenty-SeventhMeeting of the Parties.
The provisional agenda for the meeting (UNEP/OzL.Pro.27/1) has been distributed to theparties andthe annotations to the provisional agenda (UNEP/OzL.Pro.27/1/Add.1) will be issued in October 2015. A note by the Secretariat (UNEP/OzL.Pro.27/2) and its addendum (UNEP/OzL.Pro.27/2/Add.1), which areintended to provide parties with background information on the issues on the agenda, including, where relevant, a brief description of the outcome and any recommendations of the Open-ended Working Group at its resumed thirty-sixth meeting as well as information and recommendations of the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel,will be communicated to the parties before the opening of the Twenty-Seventh Meeting of the Parties.The Secretariat will provide working documents on issues on the agenda to which parties may refer in their deliberations.

IV.Review of the agenda and presentation of a road map for the conduct of the TwentySeventhMeeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (agenda item5)

The Twenty-SeventhMeeting of the Parties will be held at the Conrad Hotel, Sheikh Zayed Road,Dubai,from 1 to 5October 2015. In accordance with established practice, the meeting will be divided into two segments: a threeday preparatory segment and a twoday highlevel segment. The preparatory segment is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Sunday, 1 November 2015, while the highlevel segment will begin at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 4November. The registration of participants beganonline on 15 September;on-site registration will open at 8a.m. on Wednesday, 28 October,and continue each morning thereafter until 5 November 2015.
The agenda for the preparatory segment includes the substantive issues that are expected to be taken up during the high-level segment. Those issues include nominations for essential-use exemptions of ozone-depleting substances for 2016; nominations for critical-use exemptions of methyl bromide for 2016 and 2017; and issues related to alternatives to ozone-depleting substances,as part of which parties will consider the report by the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel on the full range of alternatives to ozone-depleting substances, and updated information submitted by parties on their implementation of paragraph 9 of decisionXIX/6. Other issues on the agenda also include the outcome of the resumed thirty-sixth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group; proposed amendments to the Montreal Protocol; issues related to the phase-out of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and potential areas of focus for the assessment panels’ 2018 quadrennial assessments. The meeting will also consider compliance and data-reporting issues considered by the Implementation Committee. The Committee will meet for onedayprior to the start of the Twenty-Seventh Meeting of the Parties.
At itsthirty-sixth meeting, in July 2015, the Open-ended Working Groupagreed to suspend the meeting and resume it prior to the Twenty-Seventh Meeting of the Parties for the sole purpose of continuing its work under item 7 of the agenda of the thirty-sixth meeting, namely, the outcome of the intersessional informal discussions on the feasibility and ways of managingHFCs. The resumed thirtysixth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group will be held in Dubai on 29 and 30 October 2015.
In accordance with established practice, the Co-Chairs of the Open-ended Working Group willoversee the preparatory segment. After the opening of the high-level segment, the parties may reconvene the preparatory segment as they deem expedient to allow for the completion of any unfinished business.

A.Members of the Bureau

The opening of the high-level segment on 4 November will be chaired by the President of the Twenty-Sixth Meeting of the Parties, who will conduct the meeting until the parties elect the President of the Twenty-Seventh Meeting of the Parties. In accordance with rule 21 of the rules of procedure and the established practice of rotating the posts of president and rapporteur among the regional groups in English alphabetical order, it is expected that the new president of the Twenty-Seventh Meeting of the Parties will be elected from among theWestern European and other States,the rapporteur from among the Latin American and CaribbeanStates and the three vicepresidents from among the African States, the Asia-Pacific States and Eastern European States.
The newly elected president will then guide the parties through the agenda on the understanding that the work of contact groups established during the preparatory segment may continue in parallel with the high-level plenary sessions in an effort to resolve any outstanding issues by Thursday, 5 November, when the parties are expected to adopt their draft decisions.

B.Members of the Implementation Committee

Each year the Meeting of the Parties considers the membership of the Implementation Committee. In accordance with the non-compliance procedure adopted by the parties, the Committee consists of 10 parties, each of which selects an individual to represent it. Those parties are elected for two years on the basis of equitable geographical distribution, that is, two are elected to represent each of the regional groupings of Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Western Europe and others. Committee members may serve two consecutive twoyear terms, if re-elected after the first term.
The current members of the Committee are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Italy, Lebanon, Mali, Pakistan and Poland. Lebanon and Poland will conclude the second year of their second two-year terms in 2015 and therefore will have to be replaced. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cuba and Italy will complete the first year of their twoyear terms in 2015; they will therefore continue as members for 2016. Canada, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Mali and Pakistan will conclude the second year of their first two-year terms in 2015 and will therefore have to be replaced or reelected.

C.Members of the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol

The TwentySeventh Meeting of the Parties will consider the membership of the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund. In accordance with its terms of reference, the Executive Committee consists of seven members from parties operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5 of the Montreal Protocol and seven members from parties not so operating.For 2016, the seven members of parties operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5 are expected to be selected from the regional groups as follows: two members from African States, three members from Asian and Pacific States and two members from Latin American and the Caribbean States.
In addition, the terms of reference of the Executive Committee call for the election from among the members of the Committee of a Chair and Vice-Chair, who alternate each year between parties operating under paragraph1 of Article 5 and parties not so operating. As representatives of the United States of America and Grenada served as Chair and Vice-Chair, respectively, during 2015, the parties operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5 will be expected to nominate the Chair for 2015 and the parties not so operating will be expected to nominate the Vice-Chair.
The TwentySeventh Meeting of the Parties will be asked to adopt a decision in which it endorses the selection of the new Committee members and takes note of the selection of the Committee Chair and Vice-Chair for 2016.

D.Co-Chairs of the Open-ended Working Group

Each year the Meeting of the Parties selects one representative from among the parties operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5 and one representative from among the parties not so operating to serve as CoChairs of the Open-ended Working Group in the subsequent year. In accordance with decision XXVI/20, Mr. Paul Krajnik (Austria) and Ms. Emma Rachmawaty (Indonesia) have served as Co-Chairs of the Openended Working Group in 2015. The TwentySeventh Meeting of the Parties is expected to adopta decision naming the Co-Chairs of the Open-ended Working Group for 2016.

V.Issues that the Secretariat wishes to highlight for the Bureau

The Secretariat has organized a ministerial round-table discussion during the high-level segment, comparable to the one that was held during theTwenty-Sixth Meeting of the Parties. The 90minute discussion will be convened immediately after the opening session of the high-level segment on 4 November 2015. The discussion will focus on ways in which the institutions and the mechanisms of the Montreal Protocol could assist parties in managing HFCs.
A number of ministers and high-level representatives from around the world have been invited to make brief statements on this topic followed by an interactive discussion with members of the audience upon invitation by the moderator. At the end of the discussion, the rapporteur will provide a summary of the main points raised.
The three assessment panels have finalized their synthesis report of the 2014 assessment, which will be presented during the high-level segment. Discussions on the focus of the 2018 quadrennial assessments, for which the findings of the synthesis report will be useful, will, however,begin during the preparatory segment.
Mr. Ayite-Lo Ajavon, Co-Chair of the Scientific Assessment Panel, willretire from the Panel in 2015. He has served as a Co-Chair and a lead author of the Panel since its 2002 assessment and his scientific knowledge, wisdom, skills and leadership will be missed by the Panel as well as by all the parties. At the time of the establishment of the assessment panels in 1992, a tacit understandingwas reached among all the parties that each of the panels would have one Co-Chair from a party operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5 and, in the case of the Scientific Assessment Panel,that that party should be from the African region. Thus, the group of African States is expected to nominate a new Co-Chair to replace Mr. Ajavon.
The note by the Secretariat on the proposed revision to the approved budget for 2015 and proposed budgets for 2016 and 2017 for the Trust Fund for the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (UNEP/OzL.Pro.27/4) includes in the proposed revision to the budget for 2015 additional costs for the intersessional informal meeting held in Vienna in June 2015 and for the resumed thirty-sixth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group, which were not included in the approved budget. At the time of preparation of the proposed revision to the approved budget for 2015, the date and venue of the resumed thirty-sixth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group had not yet been established. The costs for conference services and the travel of participants from parties operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5 included in the proposed revisionwere therefore based on the averagecost across five United Nations duty stations of a two-day standalone meeting. In the light of the decision to convene the resumed thirty-sixth meeting in Dubai back to back with the Twenty-Seventh Meeting of the Parties, the Secretariat will update the budget with more accurate costs and issue a revised version of the note by the Secretariat. The expected changes in the revised budget include a decrease in the cost of conference services for the resumed thirtysixth meeting of the Working Group from $315,000 to $200,000 and a decrease in the cost of travel for participants from parties operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5 from $210,000 to $100,000, amounting to a total cost reduction of $225,000.
The level of annual contributions to the Trust Fund for the Montreal Protocol has remained steady at $4,276,933 since 2007. Since then any difference between the actual expenditure and the contributions has been drawn down from the Fund balance. With the current budget projection, the fund balance will drop to $1 million by the end of 2017. The parties may wish to consider increasing the level of contributions, at a minimum to match the annual approved budgets. They may also wish to include the additional cost for 2015 as part of their contributions for 2016. Based on consultations with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Secretariat will be recommending to the parties the approximate level of reserves for their consideration.

VI.Other matters

At the time of writing, the Secretariat had no further issues that it wished to bring to the Bureau’s attention. Bureau members may wish to raise other issues during the meeting.

UNEP/OzL.Pro.26/Bur.1/R.2

Annex I

Actions taken on the decisions adopted by the Twenty-SixthMeeting of the Parties tothe Montreal Protocol as at 24 September 2015

Decision / Title / Actions required of the Secretariat / Actions taken by the Secretariat
XXVI/1 / Status of ratification of the Vienna Convention, the Montreal Protocol and the London, Copenhagen, Montreal and Beijing amendments to the Montreal Protocol /

AdviseMauritania to ratify, approve or accede to the Beijing Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, taking into account that universal participation is necessary to ensure the protection of the ozone layer

/ Mauritania ratified the Beijing Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on 4 December 2014, immediately after the Twenty-Sixth Meeting of the Parties and, as a result no further action was necessary
XXVI/2 / Essential-use nominations for controlled substances for 2015 /

Notify China of the decision and associated conditions and also send letters to other targeted parties regarding availability of pharmaceutical grade CFCs in January 2015

Notification to Chinaand other targeted parties sent in January 2015

XXVI/3 / Essential-use exemption for chlorofluorocarbon-113 for aerospace applications in the Russian Federation /

Notifythe Russian Federation of the essential-use exemption and associated conditions in January2015

Notification to the Russian Federation sent in January 2015

XXVI/4 / Essential-use exemption for laboratory and analytical uses for 2015 in China /

Notify China of the decision and associated conditions

Notification to China sent in January 2015

XXVI/5 / Global laboratory and analytical-use exemption /

Follow up with the Technology and Economic Assessment Paneland some of its technical options committees on the implementation of the decision
Notify all parties

Letters sent to theTechnology and Economic Assessment Paneland some of its technical options committees in March 2015 and a reminder to be sent to the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel in February 2018
Letter sent to all parties in March 2015

XXVI/6 / Critical-use exemptions for methyl bromide for 2015 and 2016 /

Notify Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Mexico and United States of America of the decision and associated conditions

Notifications sent to Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Mexico and United States in January 2015

XXVI/7 / Availability of recovered, recycled or reclaimed halons /

Follow up with the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel to take action in accordance with request in paragraph 4 of the decision
Notify all parties

Letter sent to the Technology and Economic Assessment Panelin December 2014
Letter sent to parties in January 2015
Four parties have provided information so far and the Secretariat is working with the Halons Technical Options Committee on the submissions

XXVI/8 / Measures to facilitate the monitoring of trade in hydrochlorofluorocarbons and substituting substances /

Follow up with the World Customs Organization to take action in accordance with the request in paragraph 1 of the decision
Update parties on action taken on the decisionby the time of the Open-ended Working Group at its thirty-sixth meeting

Letter sent to the World Customs Organization in December 2014 and a follow up in May 2015The Open-ended Working Group at its thirty-sixth meeting was updated by the Secretariat on the matter in July 2015

XXVI/9 / Response to the report by the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel on information on alternatives to ozone-depleting substances /

Follow up with the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel to take action in accordance with request in paragraph 1of the decision
Send letter to Fund Secretariat for action by the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund

Decision communicated to Technology and Economic Assessment Panel and to all parties in November 2014
Final report of Technology and Economic Assessment Panelto be presented to the Twenty-Seventh Meeting of the Parties for consideration

XXVI/10 / 2015–2017 Replenishment of the Multilateral Fund /

Send letter for the attention of the Treasurer and the Secretariat of the Multilateral Fund

Treasurer and the Secretariat of the Multilateral Fund notified in November 2014

XXVI/11 / Extension of the fixed-exchange-rate mechanism to the 2015‒2017 replenishment of the Multilateral Fund /

Send letter for the attention of the Treasurer and the Secretariat of the Multilateral Fund

The Treasurer and the Secretariat of the Multilateral Fund notified about the decision in November 2014

XXVI/12 / Data and information provided by the parties in accordance with Article 7 of the Montreal Protocol /

Notify Central African Republic to take action in accordance with the concern raised in the decision on failure to report 2013 data in time

Notification sent to Central African Republic in December 2014
Issue placed on the agenda for consideration by the Implementation Committee at its fifty-fourthmeeting in July2014

XXVI/13 / Non-compliance with the Montreal Protocol by Kazakhstan /

Notify Kazakhstanof the decision

Notification sent to Kazakhstan in December 2014
Issue placed on the agenda for consideration by the Implementation Committee at its fifty-fourth meeting in July 2014

XXVI/14 / Requests for the revision of baseline data by Libya and Mozambique /

Notify concerned parties and the Multilateral Fund Secretariat of the decision
Adjust the respective baseline data in the Secretariat’s database with the new approved figures for each party

Notifications sent to the Fund Secretariat and contributing parties in January 2015
Secretariat adjusted the database information accordingly

XXVI/15 / Non-compliance with the Montreal Protocol bythe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea /

Notify Democratic People’s Republic of Korea of the decision

Letter sent to Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in December 2014
Issue placed on the agenda for consideration by the Implementation Committee at its fifty-fourth meeting in July 2014

XXVI/16 / Non-compliance with the Montreal Protocol by Guatemala /

Notify Guatemala of the decision

Letter sent to Guatemala in December 2014
Issue placed on the agenda for consideration by the Implementation Committee at its fifty-fourth meeting in July 2014

XXVI/17 / Membership changes in the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel /

Notify concerned members of the technical options committees and Technology and Economic Assessment Panelexperts

Notifications sent to concerned members in December 2014

XXVI/18 / Membership of the Implementation Committee /

Notify Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cuba, Italy,Mali and Pakistan of the decision as new members
Notify the President and Vice-President of the Implementation Committee for 2015

Letters sent to concerned parties and President and Vice-President of the Committee in December 2014

XXVI/19 / Membership of the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund /

Notify Bahrain, Brazil, Comoros, Egypt, Grenada, India, United Republic of Tanzania, and Australia, Belgium, Italy, Japan, Sweden, Russian Federation and United States of the decision on their membership
Notify the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Executive Committee for 2015

Letters sent to concerned parties and Chair and Vice-Chair of the Executive Committee in December 2014

XXVI/20 / Co-Chairs of the Open-ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol /

Notify Mr. Paul Krajnik (Austria) and Ms. Emma Rachmawaty (Indonesia) of their appointment

Letters sent to the Co-Chairs in December 2014, following which they successfully conducted the thirty-sixth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group in July 2015
The Co-Chairs will conduct the preparatory segment of the Twenty-Seventh Meeting of the Parties

XXVI/21 / Financial reports and budgets for the Montreal Protocol /

Secretariat to take action on paragraphs 3 and 7 of the decision

Notifications were sent to contributing parties in December 2014 and action was taken on paragraphs 3 and 7of the decision

XXVI/22 / Twenty-Seventh and Twenty-Eighth Meetings of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol /

Notify United Arab Emirates and Rwanda of the decision

Notifications sent in December 2014
Preparations for the Twenty-SeventhMeeting of the Parties made, in consultation with the Government of the United Arab Emirates,to hold the meeting in Dubai

Annex II