The Forty-second Meeting of the Executive Committee decided:
(a) to request the Multilateral Fund Secretariat to prepare for the 43rd Meeting of the Executive Committee, an appropriate document covering updated status of the implementation of approved projects for accelerated phase-out of methyl bromide, based on available information in the Secretariat and relevant bilateral and Implementing Agencies;
(b) to invite Executive Committee Members to submit to the Secretariat, by 30 April 2004, their comments on the implementation of decision Ex.I/2 of the Parties; and
(c) to consider, at its 43rd Meeting, the need to establish a contact group to consider the paper prepared by the Secretariat and any submission by the Executive Committee Members.
(UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/42/54, Decision 42/49, para. 161).
The Forty-third Meeting of the Executive Committee decided: to adopt the following criteria for the submission of requests for the prolongation of accelerated phase-out agreements pursuant to decision Ex. I/2:
(a) the Executive Committee shall evaluate each individual project at the request of the Party implementing the project;
(b) the project shall be under implementation and demonstrate substantive advancements in its implementation;
(c) the Party implementing the project shall submit its request for reconsideration, and all other relevant information to justify its case, to the Multilateral Fund Secretariat, which will communicate it to the Executive Committee Members eight weeks before the Meeting;
(d) the information submitted by the Party shall include, among other items it may consider relevant:
(i) identification of unforeseen difficulties, as of the date of the signature of the commitment, that affect the development of the project (Note: these difficulties may include, inter alia: changes in the market, the proposed alternative is no longer available in the market, the proposed alternative has been demonstrated not to be applicable at the local level in specific conditions or for a specific crop, it has not been possible to register an alternative, cancellation of the registration of an alternative, etc.);
(ii) where the unforeseen difficulty is the lack of technical or economic feasibility of the alternatives, evidence of trials of alternatives to methyl bromide with negative results undertaken in the corresponding region of the country; and
(iii) submission of an action plan or alternative schedule for the phase out of methyl bromide (Note: The proposed action plan/alternative schedule should, at the least, agree with the control measure of the Montreal Protocol applicable to methyl bromide);
(e) the renegotiation of the disbursements shall make it a priority not to affect the continuity of the project, given the importance of not interrupting the technological transfer process because of the characteristics of agricultural production; and
(f) in its consideration of the projects with difficulties, the Executive Committee shall take into account whether exemptions for critical uses have been granted in non Article 5 countries, facing similar circumstances. In so doing, the Executive Committee may request the advice of the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) and the Methyl Bromide Technical Options Committee (MBTOC).
(UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/43/61, Decision 43/14, para. 75).
(Supporting document: UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/43/19).