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The Fifty-third Meeting of the Executive Committee decided:
(a) that ratification of or accession to the Copenhagen Amendment was the prerequisite for an Article 5 Party to access Multilateral Fund funding for phasing out the consumption of HCFCs;
(b) that ratification of or accession to the Beijing Amendment was the prerequisite for an Article 5 Party to access Multilateral Fund funding for phasing out the production of HCFCs;
(c) that, in the case of a non-signatory country, the Executive Committee might consider providing funding for conducting an HCFC survey and the preparation of an accelerated HCFC phase-out management plan, with the commitment of the government to ratify or accede to the necessary Amendment and on the understanding that no further funding would be available until the Ozone Secretariat had confirmed that the government had ratified or acceded to that Amendment, through the deposit of its instrument in the Office of the United Nations Headquarters in New York;
(d) that the existing policies and guidelines of the Multilateral Fund for funding the phase-out of ODS other than HCFCs would be applicable to the funding of HCFC phase-out unless otherwise decided by the Executive Committee in light of, in particular, decision XIX/6 of the Nineteenth Meeting of the Parties;
(e) that institutions and capacities in Article 5 countries developed through Multilateral Fund assistance for the phase-out of ODS other than HCFCs should be used to economize the phase‑out of HCFCs, as appropriate;
(f) that stable and sufficient assistance from the Multilateral Fund would be provided to guarantee the sustainability of such institutions and capacities when deemed necessary for the phase-out of HCFCs;
(i) the continued applicability of the current approach to funding HCFC production phase-out being based on the assumption of plant closures;
(ii) the timing of funding HCFC production phase-out in view of the long duration between the HCFC freeze in 2013 and the final phase-out in 2030, taking into consideration that production and consumption phase‑out could take place simultaneously;
(iii) the eligibility of the CFC/HCFC-22 swing plants in view of the commitment in the CFC production phase-out agreement not to seek funding again from the Multilateral Fund for closing down HCFC facilities that use the existing CFC infrastructure;
(iv) the cut-off date for funding eligibility of HCFC production phase-out;
(v) other measures that could facilitate management of HCFC production phase-out; and
(vi) other issues related to the HCFC production sector, taking in account subparagraph (g)(ii) above.
(h) that the Secretariat would work with the implementing agencies to examine the existing guidelines for country programmes and sector plans (decision taken at the 3rd Meeting of the Executive Committee and decision 38/65), and propose draft guidelines to the 54th Meeting for the preparation of HCFC phase-out management plans incorporating HCFC surveys, taking into consideration comments and views relating to such guidelines expressed by Executive Committee members at the 53rd Meeting and the submissions to the 54th Meeting referred to in paragraph (l) below, and that the Executive Committee would do its utmost to approve the guidelines at its 54th Meeting;
(i) that the Secretariat, in consultation with technical experts with knowledge of experiences in Article 5 countries with different levels of development and non‑Article 5 countries, would prepare by 25 March 2008 a preliminary discussion document providing analysis on all relevant cost considerations surrounding the financing of HCFC phase-out, taking into account the views expressed by Executive Committee Members in the submissions referred to in paragraph (l) below, and including:
(i) information on the cost benchmarks/ranges and applicability of HCFC substitute technologies; and
(ii) consideration of substitute technologies, financial incentives and opportunities for co-financing which could be relevant for ensuring that the HCFC phase-out resulted in benefits in accordance with paragraph 11(b) of decision XIX/6 of the Nineteenth Meeting of the Parties;
(j) that the current classifications of low-volume-consuming (LVC) countries and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should be maintained until the cost‑effectiveness thresholds of HCFC phase-out had been developed and the potential impact of those thresholds on LVC countries and SMEs had become better known. It would then be possible to review those classifications including a classification for very low-volume consuming countries, and current policies and funding arrangements targeting those countries and enterprises;
(k) to note that the following cut-off dates for funding HCFC phase-out had been proposed:
(i) 2000 (Cap of HCFC production/consumption in one major country);
(ii) 2003 (Clean Development Mechanism);
(iii) 2005 (proposal for accelerated phase-out of HCFCs);
(iv) 2007 (Nineteenth Meeting of the Parties);
(v) 2010 (end of the baseline for HCFCs);
(vi) Availability of substitutes;
(l) as a matter of priority, and taking into account paragraphs 5 and 8 of decision XIX/6 of the Nineteenth Meeting of the Parties, to invite Executive Committee Members to submit their views on the following issues to the Secretariat, by 15 January 2008, with the understanding that the Secretariat would make the submissions available to the 54th Meeting:
(i) elements the Secretariat should consider in the draft guidelines for the preparation of national HCFC phase-out management plans;
(ii) cost considerations to be taken into account by the Secretariat in preparing the discussion document referred to in paragraph (i) above;
(iii) cut-off date for funding eligibility; and
(iv) second-stage conversions;
(m) to approve 2008 expenditure of up to US $150,000 to cover the costs of consultations with technical experts and other stakeholders required for the preparation of the documents referred to in the present decision.
(UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/53/67, Decision 53/37, para. 201).
(Supporting document: UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/53/60).
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