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.

Decision X/11: Quarantine and pre-shipment exemption

The Tenth Meeting of the Parties decided in Dec. X/11:

Noting the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel’s findings that over 18 per cent of methyl-bromide use is estimated to have been excluded from control under the quarantine and pre-shipment exemption, and that this use is increasing in some regions according to official data,

Noting also that the operation of the exemption criteria might lead to unnecessary use of methyl bromide;

  1. To request the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel, as part of its ongoing work:
    1. To assess the volumes and uses of methyl bromide under the quarantine and pre-shipment exemption, including the trend in use since the 1991 base year;
    2. To report on the existing and potential availability of alternative substances and technologies, identifying those applications where alternative treatments do not currently exist, and also on the availability and economic viability of recovery, containment and recycling technologies;
    3. To report on the operation of quarantine and pre-shipment exemptions as set out in decision VII/5, including the scope of the pre-shipment definition;
    4. To report on existing and potential options that individual Parties might consider to reduce the use and emissions of methyl bromide from its application under the quarantine and pre-shipment exemption and to elaborate further on their recommendations in previous reports, and taking into account the special circumstances of Parties operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5 of the Protocol;
    5. To review and report on the amendment by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) to its quarantine and non-quarantine pests definitions, and the FAO/IPPC structure relative to the use of pesticides for regulated non-quarantine pests, to help determine whether clarification of the definitions of quarantine and pre-shipment, taking into account these FAO/IPPC usages, would help encourage consistency in the quarantine and pre-shipment definitions;
    6. To submit its findings to the Open-ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol at its first meeting in 1999;
  2. To request the Open-ended Working Group, in the light of the report of the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel, to make any appropriate recommendations for consideration by the Eleventh Meeting of the Parties;
  3. To request the Parties to submit to the Secretariat by 31 December 1999 a list of regulations that mandate the use of methyl bromide for quarantine and pre-shipment treatments;
  4. To remind the Parties of the need to report on the volumes of methyl bromide consumed under the quarantine and pre-shipment exemption as set out in decision IX/28.