Noting with appreciation the work of the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel and its Methyl Bromide Technical Options Committee,

Recognizing the significant reductions made in critical-use nominations for methyl bromide in many parties,

Recalling paragraph 10 of decision XVII/9,

Recalling also that all parties that have nominated critical-use exemptions are to report data on stocks using the accounting framework agreed to by the Sixteenth Meeting of the Parties,

Recalling further paragraphs 1 and 2 of decision XXV/4, in which the Meeting of the Parties requested that, by the thirty-sixth[2] meeting of the Open-ended Working Group, Australia submit the available results of its research programme and Canada submit the available results of its assessment of the impact of chloropicrin on groundwater to the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel for its consideration,

Recognizing that the production and consumption of methyl bromide for critical uses should be permitted only if methyl bromide is not available in sufficient quantity and quality from existing stocks of banked or recycled methyl bromide,

Recognizing also that parties operating under critical-use exemptions should take into account the extent to which methyl bromide is available in sufficient quantity and quality from existing stocks of banked or recycled methyl bromide in licensing, permitting or authorizing the production and consumption of methyl bromide for critical uses,

Recognizing further that the additional information provided by Argentina at the Twenty-Sixth Meeting of the Parties allowed the co-chairs of the Methyl Bromide Technical Options Committee to show how an amount of methyl bromide would be justified for critical use by Argentina in line with decision IX/6,

1. To permit, for the agreed critical-use categories for 2015 and 2016 set forth in table A of the annex to the present decision for each party, subject to the conditions set forth in the present decision and in decision Ex.I/4 to the extent that those conditions are applicable, the levels of production and consumption for 2015 and 2016 set forth in table B of the annex to the present decision, which are necessary to satisfy critical uses, with the understanding that additional levels of production and consumption and categories of use may be approved by the Meeting of the Parties in accordance with decision IX/6;
2. That parties shall endeavour to license, permit, authorize or allocate quantities of methyl bromide for critical uses as listed in table A of the annex to the present decision;
3. That each party that has an agreed critical-use exemption shall renew its commitment to ensuring that the criteria in paragraph 1 of decision IX/6, in particular the criterion laid down in paragraph 1 (b) (ii) of decision IX/6, are applied in licensing, permitting or authorizing critical uses of methyl bromide, with each party requested to report on the implementation of the present provision to the Ozone Secretariat by 1 February for the years to which the present decision applies;

Annex 

Table A

Agreed critical-use categories

(Metric tonnes)

Table B

Permitted levels of production and consumptiona

(Metric tonnes)

a Minus available stocks.

[2] This reference to the thirty-sixth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group should be understood to imply that submissions are required before the thirty-seventh meeting in order to take into account the additional meeting agreed to under decision XXVI/9, which will be the thirty-fifth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group.