Assessment Panels

The Assessment Panels have been the pillars of the ozone protection regime since the very beginning of the implementation of the Montreal Protocol. Through provision of independent technical and scientific assessments and information, the Panels have helped the Parties reach informed decisions that have made the Montreal Protocol a world-recognized success.

UNEP initiated the process of setting up the assessment panels in 1988, pursuant to Article 6 of the Montreal Protocol, to assess the scientific issues of ozone depletion, environmental effects of ozone depletion, and the status of alternative substances and technologies and their economic implications.

Four panels, namely the panels for Scientific, Environmental Effects, Technology, and Economic Assessments were formally established and approved at the First Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in 1989 where their first set of Terms of Reference were adopted. Shortly after the Second Meeting of the Parties in 1990, the Panels for Technical Assessment and the Panel for Economic Assessment were merged into one Panel called the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP), which together with the Scientific Assessment Panel (SAP) and the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel (EEAP) make up the three assessment panels active today.

In accordance with Article 6 of the Montreal Protocol and subsequent decisions of the Parties, the three panels carry out a periodic assessment at least every 4 years. The first assessment reports were published in 1989 and since then major periodic assessments have been published by all three panels in 1991, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010. For each periodic assessment, the key findings of the panels are synthesized into a short report. The next synthesis report for the 2010 assessment is expected to be published at the end of May 2011.

The TEAP is also tasked by the Parties every year to assess and evaluate various technical issues including evaluating nominations for essential use exemptions for CFCs and halons, and nominations for critical use exemptions for methyl bromide. TEAP’s annual reports are a basis for the Parties’ informed decision-making and TEAP also review the status of alternatives and technologies on an annual basis. The TEAP operates with six Technical Options Committees (TOCs):

• Chemicals Technical Options Committee (CTOC)
• Flexible and Rigid Foams Technical Options Committee (FTOC)
• Halons Technical Options Committee (HTOC)
• Medical Technical Options Committee (MTOC)
• Methyl Bromide Technical Options Committee (MBTOC)
• Refrigeration, Air-Conditioning and Heat Pumps Technical Options Committee (RTOC)

Other temporary subsidiary bodies (e.g. task forces) are established and dissolved according to the needs for specialized assessments as required by the Parties.