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 XXXIV/10: Stocks and quarantine and pre-shipment uses of methyl bromide

Noting that the Methyl Bromide Technical Options Committee of the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel has pointed out that it is likely that the available information it has on stocks does not accurately show the total stocks of methyl bromide held globally for controlled and exempted uses,

Noting also that the Scientific Assessment Panel will be reporting to the Open-ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol at its forty-fifth meeting on its quadrennial assessment, which could provide further opportunity to present information on any discrepancies between top‑down and bottom-up estimates of methyl bromide emissions,

Noting further that some parties may not be aware of specific alternatives for some quarantine and pre-shipment uses of methyl bromide,

Noting that parties are required to report statistical data on the production, imports and exports of controlled substances as well as on the annual amount of methyl bromide used for quarantine and pre-shipment applications under paragraph 3 of Article 7 of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer,

  1. To invite parties to submit to the Ozone Secretariat, on a voluntary basis, by 1 June 2023, a list of the pest and commodity combinations in which methyl bromide is needed or used in their respective countries;
  2. To invite parties to submit, on a voluntary basis, accessible data on the volumes of pre‑phase-out methyl bromide stocks at the country level to the Ozone Secretariat by 1 June 2023;
  3. To include the issue of methyl bromide stocks in the agenda of the forty-fifth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group;
  4. To request the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel and its Methyl Bromide Technical Options Committee, in consultation with the secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention, to provide updated information, as part of its progress report to the Open-ended Working Group at its forty-fifth meeting, on current quarantine and pre-shipment uses for which alternatives are available;
  5. To invite parties to take into account the standards and guidelines under the International Plant Protection Convention in their national processes and to consider the potential for uptake of practices to minimize the use of methyl bromide.