The Handbook contains four sections: (1) an outline of the critical-use process, (2) suggested forms and notes for the submission of critical-use nominations, (3) reporting accounting framework and (4) appendices. The appendices contain provisions of the Montreal Protocol relating to critical-use exemptions for methyl bromide, relevant decisions of the Parties to the Protocol, and extracts from meeting reports of the Parties relevant to critical uses.

The conclusion in 1985 of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, followed in 1987 by the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, were the starting points of global cooperation for the protection of the Earth’s stratospheric ozone layer.

When did we realize ozone depletion was an issue, and how did we fix it? By 1985, the globe had already seen advancements in the scientific understanding of ozone depletion and its impacts on human health and the environment. It was then that the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer was created in response. This agreement is a framework convention that lays out principles agreed upon by many parties. It does not, however, require countries to take control actions to protect the ozone layer. This would come later in the form of the Montreal Protocol. 

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. 

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This document aims to initiate a discussion on gender mainstreaming in the work of the ozone treaties.

This primer is intended to provide members of the Implementation Committee, particularly new members, with a comprehensive understanding of the non-compliance procedure of the Montreal Protocol and the manner in which the Committee has operated over more than 15 years. In that regard, it is important to note that the non-compliance procedure adopted by the Parties consists of only 16 paragraphs and that, like any institution, the Implementation Committee has developed over the course of its existence a mode of efficient operation that, while firmly based on the non-compliance procedure, rel

This primer is intended to provide participants, especially new delegates, attending the meetings of the Conference of the Parties to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (the Vienna Convention), the Meetings of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (the Montreal Protocol) and meetings of the Open-ended Working Group of the Montreal Protocol, with the necessary information to understand the procedures of those bodies and to enable them to effectively participate in those meetings.