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Act Ozone friendly, stay sun safe
16 September 2007 – 20th Anniversary of the Montreal Protocol
This week, delegates from almost 200 countries gather in Montreal to mark the 20th anniversary of the first treaty to cut chemicals found to harm the ozone layer, which protects the Earth from ultraviolet radiation, and to hammer out a new agenda.
The Montreal Protocol has been a groundbreaking international agreement that curbed and eventually reversed the thinning of the ozone layer, and ushered in a new era of environmental responsibility. Its 191 signatories have together stopped the production and consumption of over 95 percent of the ozone depleting substances. It is expected that the Earth’s protective ozone layer will return to its pre-1980 levels no later than 2075.
By any measure, the Protocol has been a resounding success, as Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General stated:
The success of the Montreal Protocol shows us that there are global instruments that can help curb the impact of human activities on the global environment. We should draw lessons from this experience, and strive to replicate it.
As the poor and vulnerable populations often bear the highest costs of environmental degradation, UNDP – with the financial assistance of the Multilateral Fund (MLF), the protocol’s implementation fund – has assisted more than 100 countries to phase-out over 63,000 tonnes of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) to meet the targets set by the Protocol.
China is one of the biggest ozone depleting substances producers where UNDP has been actively addressing this issue heads-up. Since 1992, UNDP has mobilized a total of over US$114 million from the MLF to assist the Chinese government in ODS phase-out.
Together with the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), UNDP China has implemented 129 individual MP projects to help 129 enterprises phase-out 11,974 tonnes of ODS in the sectors of solvent, foam and refrigerator.
In 2000, UNDP China joined hands with SEPA to launch an 11-year project, the China Solvent Sector Plan, with support of the MLF grant of US$52 million. The project has provided eligible ozone depleting solvent consumers with equipments and alternative cleaning technologies.
By the end of 2006, more than 350 Chinese enterprises supported by the project phased out 3,300 tonnes of CFC-113, 1,500 tonnes of TCA and 30 tonnes of CTC in the solvent sector.
The project has also assisted in building technical and managerial capacity to ensure an efficient and timely phase-out at the national level. On the 2005 International Ozone Day, UNDP China launched a sub-project, “Ozone Friendly Provinces/Municipalities” which has facilitated the early phase-out of CFC/Halon at provincial and municipal levels.
Under this project, 12 Chinese provinces/municipalities signed the agreement and pledged to accelerate phase-out CFCs/Halon by July 2006, three and half years earlier than the deadline imposed by the Protocol. During the one year implementation, all committed provinces successfully strengthened the enforcement of ODS phase-out, deepened the monitor on illegal ODS production, distribution, and consumption, and raised the public awareness on Ozone Protection.
On 2006 International Ozone Day, UNDP and SEPA awarded 7 out of 12 as the outstanding “Ozone Friendly Provinces / Municipalities”. SEPA took this opportunity to express their strong interest in continuing working with UNDP and extending the project to additional 18 provinces.
The Protocol has done its share in mitigating climate change. As many ozone-depleting substances are also greenhouse gases, their elimination serves to protect not only the ozone layer but also the global climate. Twenty years after its inception, the Montreal Protocol is thriving proof that the international community can cooperatively take on shared environmental challenges.
In wake of the 20th Anniversary of the Montreal Protocol, the accomplishment gives us reason to celebrate. Montreal’s success shows how multilateral cooperation can improve the environment and the lives of people who depend on it. The achievements of country projects also demonstrate the successful mechanism of partnership building between UNDP and the governments, the private sector and other stakeholders.
For more information on the project, please contact Ms. Judy Li, Programme Manager of the project through email: judy.li@undp.org
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