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 XXII/3: Terms of reference for the study on the 2012-2014 replenishment of the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol

Recalling the parties' decisions on previous terms of reference for studies on the replenishment of the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol,

Recalling also the parties' decisions on previous replenishments of the Multilateral Fund,

  1. To request the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel to prepare a report for submission to the Twenty-Third Meeting of the Parties, and to present it through the Open-ended Working Group at its thirty-first meeting, to enable the Twenty-Third Meeting of the Parties to take a decision on the appropriate level of the 2012-2014 replenishment of the Multilateral Fund;
  2. That, in preparing the report referred to in the preceding paragraph, the Panel should take into account, among other things:
    1. All control measures and relevant decisions agreed upon by the parties to the Montreal Protocol and the Executive Committee, in particular those related to the special needs of low-volume- and very-low-volume-consuming countries, and decisions agreed upon by the Twenty-Second Meeting of the Parties and the Executive Committee at its sixty-first and sixty-second meetings insofar as those decisions will necessitate expenditure by the Multilateral Fund during the period 2012-2014;
    2. The need to allocate resources to enable all parties operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5 of the Montreal Protocol to maintain compliance with Articles 2A-2E, 2G and 2I of the Protocol;
    3. The need to allocate resources to enable all parties operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5 to meet 2013 and 2015 compliance obligations in respect of Articles 2F and 2H of the Protocol;
    4. Rules and guidelines agreed upon by the Executive Committee at all meetings, up to and including its sixty-second meeting, for determining eligibility for the funding of investment projects, non-investment projects, including institutional strengthening, measures to combat illegal trade and sectoral or national phase-out plans, including hydrochlorofluorocarbon phase-out management plans, measures to manage banks of ozone-depleting substances and ozone-depleting substance destruction projects;
    5. The impact that the international market, ozone-depleting substance control measures and country phase-out activities are likely to have on the supply of and demand for ozone-depleting substances, the corresponding effects on the price of ozone-depleting substances and the resulting incremental costs of investment projects during the period under review;
  3. That, in preparing the report referred to above, the Panel should consult widely all relevant persons and institutions and other relevant sources of information deemed useful;
  4. That the Panel shall strive to complete the report referred to above in time to enable it to be distributed to all parties two months before the thirty-first meeting of the Open-ended Working Group;
  5. That the Panel should provide indicative figures for the periods 2015-2017 and 2018-2020 to support a stable and sufficient level of funding, on the understanding that those figures will be updated in subsequent replenishment studies;