Atmospheric Monitoring of Substances Controlled under the Montreal Protocol

In 2018, atmospheric scientists reported an unexpected increase in global emissions of CFC-11 based on observations from 2012 to 2017, despite the global phase-out of controlled CFC-11 production and consumption under the Montreal Protocol in 2010. Subsequent studies showed that the increasing trend in global CFC-11 emissions had reversed by 2018-2019. Those findings highlighted the importance of atmospheric observations in evaluating the long-term effectiveness of the Montreal Protocol.

Recognizing the importance of atmospheric monitoring, the parties to the Vienna Convention and Montreal Protocol adopted a series of decisions requesting relevant scientific and technical bodies and expert groups to assess the current state of global atmospheric monitoring, identify gaps in observational coverage, and advise on options for strengthening the systematic observations of controlled substances. In decision XXXVI/1 of the Thirty-Sixth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol and decision XIII/2 of the Thirteenth Conference of the Parties to the Vienna Convention, the parties expanded the scope of the General Trust Fund for Financing Activities on Research and Systemic Observations Relevant to the Vienna Convention (VCGTF) to include support for activities related to the atmospheric monitoring of the substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol.

In decision XXXVI/1 of the Thirty-Sixth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol and decision XIII/2 of the Thirteenth Conference of the Parties to the Vienna Convention, the parties expanded the scope of the General Trust Fund for Financing Activities on Research and Systemic Observations Relevant to the Vienna Convention (VCGTF) to include support for activities related to the atmospheric monitoring of the substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol.

Subsequent decisions requested the Secretariat to prepare cost estimates for establishing and maintaining atmospheric monitoring stations. In response, the Secretariat, in consultation with the Advisory Committee of the VCGTF and experts in atmospheric monitoring of controlled substances, developed the requested cost estimates.

Building on this work, the Secretariat developed an interactive web-tool that enables users to estimate the costs associated with establishing and maintaining an atmospheric monitoring station, based on the estimates prepared. The web-tool can be accessed here.

Summary of the comments on the use and/or functionality received by parties on the initial version of the web-tool and the Secretariat’s responses are available here.