The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is a global agreement to protect the Earth’s ozone layer by phasing out the chemicals that deplete it. This phase-out plan includes both the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances. The landmark agreement was signed in 1987 and entered into force in 1989.

The parties to the Protocol meet once a year to make decisions aimed at ensuring the successful implementation of the agreement. These include adjusting or amending the Protocol, which has been done six times since its creation. The most recent amendment, the Kigali Amendment, called for the phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in 2016. These HFCs were used as replacements for a batch of ozone-depleting substances eliminated by the original Montreal Protocol. Although they do not deplete the ozone layer, they are known to be powerful greenhouse gases and, thus, contributors to climate change.

The Montreal Protocol provided a set of practical, actionable tasks that were universally agreed on. The Protocol has successfully met its objectives thus far and continues to safeguard the ozone layer today. Thanks to the collaborative effort of nations around the world, the ozone layer is well on its way to recovery.

Terms of reference for the administration of the Trust Fund for the Montreal Protocol

Source(s)
Annex II of the report of the First Meeting of the Parties, as amended by Decision XIV/41
  1. A Trust Fund for the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (hereinafter referred to as the Trust Fund) shall be established to provide financial support to the Protocol.
  2. Pursuant to the Financial Regulations and Rules of the United Nations, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with the approval of the Governing Council of UNEP and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, shall establish the Trust Fund for the administration of the Protocol.
  3. The Trust Fund shall be established for an initial period of three and one half years beginning 1 October 1989 and ending 31 March 1993. The appropriations of the Trust Fund for this period shall be financed from:
    1. Voluntary contributions made by the Parties to the Protocol including contributions from any new Parties;
    2. Voluntary contributions from States not party to the Protocol, other governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and other sources.
  4. The voluntary contributions referred to in Article 3 (a) above, are to be based on the United Nations scale of contributions for the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations (adjusted to provide that no one contribution shall exceed 22 per cent of the total and no contributions shall be required when the United Nations scale provides for a contribution of less than 0.1 per cent).
  5. The budget estimates prepared in United States dollars, covering the income and expenditure for the Protocol, shall be submitted to the ordinary meetings of the Parties to the Protocol.
  6. The proposed budget shall be dispatched by the Secretariat to all Parties to the Protocol at least ninety days before the date fixed for the opening of the ordinary meeting of the Parties to the Protocol.
  7. The Parties shall make every effort to reach agreement on the budget by consensus. If all efforts at consensus have been exhausted and no agreement reached, the budget shall, as a last resort, be adopted by two-thirds majority vote of the Parties present and voting representing at least 50 per cent of the total consumption of the controlled substances of the Parties.
  8. In the event that the Executive Director of UNEP anticipates that there might be a shortfall in resources over the financial period as a whole, he shall have discretion to adjust the budget so that expenditures are at all times fully covered by contributions received.
  9. Commitments against the resources of the Trust Fund may be made only if they are covered by the necessary income. No commitments shall be made in advance of the receipt of contributions.
  10. The Executive Director of UNEP may make transfers from one budget line to another within the budget in accordance with the Financial Regulations and Rules of the United Nations. At the end of a calendar year of a financial period, the Executive Director may transfer any uncommitted balance of appropriations to the following calendar year.
  11. All contributions are due to be paid in the year immediately preceding the year to which the contributions relate.
  12. All contributions are to be paid in United States dollars into the following account: Account No. 485-000326, UNEP Trust Funds and Counterpart Contributions, JP Morgan Chase, International Agencies Banking, 1166 Avenue of the Americas, 17th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10036-2708, United States.
  13. Contributions from States that become Parties after the beginning of the financial period shall be made on a pro rata basis for the balance of the financial period.
  14. Contributions not immediately required for the purposes of the Fund shall be invested at the discretion of the United Nations and any interest so earned shall be credited to the Fund.
  15. The Executive Director shall deduct from the income of the Trust Fund an administrative support charge equal to 13 per cent of other expenditures recorded during any accounting period in order to meet the cost of administrative activities financed from the Trust Fund and providing services relating to personnel, accounting, audit, etc.
  16. At the end of the first calendar year of a financial period, the Executive Director shall submit to the Parties the accounts for the year. He shall also submit, as soon as practicable, the audited accounts for the financial period.
  17. The General Procedures governing the Operations of the Fund of UNEP and the Financial Regulations and Rules of the United Nations shall govern the financial operations of the Protocol.
  18. In the event that the Parties wish the Trust Fund to be extended beyond 31 March 1993, the Executive Director of UNEP shall be so requested by the Parties at least six months earlier. Such extension of the Trust Fund shall be subject to the approval of the UNEP Governing Council and the United Nations Secretary-General.

* The Vienna Convention Trust Fund has the same terms of reference.