The Twelfth Meeting of the Executive Committee adopted the following recommendations on mobile air conditioners (MAC) project proposals:
(a) that Article 5 countries be encouraged to pursue a more aggressive recycling and reclamation programme in the MAC sector, and to convert their CFC-12 MAC production plants to HFC-134a technology for new vehicles. Implementing agencies should be requested to intensify their efforts in the implementation of investment projects and technical assistance activities already approved by the Executive Committee and to prepare new investment projects in those areas.
(b) that Article 5 countries be encouraged to develop and adopt regulatory measures for better containment and recycling and conversion of MAC manufacturing to HFC-134a technology. Implementing agencies should provide the necessary assistance in transferring the available knowledge and experience for this particular area within their technical assistance activities.
(c) that approval of projects in MAC retrofitting be delayed until the retrofitting technology is proven cost-effective and is adequately mature to be transferred to Article 5 countries. The Executive Committee may wish to request the Secretariat to follow closely the progress in the development of retrofitting technology in the developed countries and to report to the Executive Committee on the state-of-the-art situation.
(d) that the Executive Committee should encourage Article 5 countries to adopt necessary measures to regulate import of vehicles with CFC-12 based MACs.
The Executive Committee further recommended that in countries where specific data were not available, appropriate pilot studies should be supported by the Fund when presented to facilitate making a cost-effective choice. Such studies should only be undertaken if they were cost-effective.
(UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/12/37 (paras. 159-160).
(Supporting document: UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/12/33).
The Executive Committee requested any Party or Implementing Agency to provide an explanation of the methodology used for calculating incremental costs when submitting project proposals for MAC conversions to HFC-134a refrigerant, including a description of any technological advances provided to meet customers' new technical requirements.
(UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/14/15, para. 63).
The Seventeenth Meeting of the Executive Committee, noting that the Secretariat had received a project proposal for the conversion of specific components or sub-components that formed part of an overall system for automotive air-conditioners and that the conversion did not phase-out any ODS by itself, but might be a necessary part of system conversion, decided that project proposals in the MAC sub-sector should emanate from the manufacturers of MAC units themselves, not the manufacturers of component parts.
(UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/17/60, Decision 17/6 para. 14 and 14b).