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The
Executive Committee decided, at its Seventeenth Meeting, to take an annual
consumption level of 360 tonnes as the cut-off point below which a country
would be considered to be a low-ODS-consuming country for the purposes of
determining the eligibility of projects for funding from the allocation
reserved for such countries in accordance with the decision adopted by the
Executive Committee at its Sixteenth Meeting (UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/16/20 para.
32 (g) (iii).
Having considered the comments and
recommendations of the Sub-Committee on Project Review on the classification of
low-volume-consuming countries and, in particular, on whether the consumption
of methyl bromide should be taken into account for the purposes of determining
the status of a Party as a low-volume-consuming country, the Executive
Committee decided at its Twenty seventh meeting that the consumption of methyl
bromide reported under Article 7 of the Protocol should be excluded from the
calculation of ODS consumption used in establishing the status of a country as
a low-volume-consuming country.
(UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/27/48, Decision 27/18, para. 43).
The
Executive Committee requested that UNEP, in consultation with the other
Implementing Agencies and the Secretariat, should prepare for submission to the
Sub-Committee on Project Review at its Eighteenth Meeting a paper on innovative
approaches to phasing out ozone-depleting substances in such countries.
(UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/17/60,
Decision 17/11 para. 19a and
c).
Subsequently,
the Nineteenth Meeting of the Executive Committee, having considered the report
submitted by UNEP on innovative approaches for the phasing-out of
ozone-depleting substances in low-ODS-consuming countries
(UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/19/53), decided:
(a) to take note of the report submitted by UNEP;
(b) to endorse the methodology in the report for
approaches to institutional strengthening and country programme formulation in
low- and very-low-volume-ODS-consuming countries and to encourage UNEP to
implement the methodology on a trial basis;
(c) to request UNEP, in keeping with subparagraph
(d) of decision VII/25 of the Seventh Meeting of the Parties, to continue its
work for the preparation of an overall approach in addressing the needs of
low-volume-ODS-consuming countries by, inter alia, drawing on the experience
and ongoing activities of other organizations and to submit a report thereon to
the Executive Committee at its Twentieth Meeting.
(UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/19/64,
Decision 19/30, para. 55).
The
Seventh Meeting of the Parties requested the Executive Committee to provide
specific support to low-volume-ODS-consuming countries (LVCs) by:
(a) allocating sufficient funds for projects in
low-volume-ODS-consuming countries to further strengthen and expand awareness
and training programmes, especially in the area of refrigerant management;
(b) supporting specialized assistance such as a
workshop to establish regulatory and legislative measures required to
facilitate the phase-out of ozone-depleting substances;
(c) allowing financing of eligible retrofitting
projects, in sectors vital to LVC economies on a case-by-case basis where this
can be shown to be the best approach;
(d) requesting the United Nations Environment
Programme, due to its extensive experience with low-volume-ODS-consuming
countries (LVCs), to take the lead in preparing an overall approach in
addressing these needs;
(e) providing funds to low-volume-ODS-consuming
countries, on a regional basis, to organize training workshops for their
customs and other officers on the harmonized system and other systems to
control and monitor consumption of ozone-depleting substances;
Approval
of projects in low-volume-ODS-consuming countries and very
low-volume-ODS-consuming countries should be based upon a more appropriate
project-appraisal approach reflecting the particular circumstances encountered
by the countries referred to above.
(UNEP/OzL.Pro.7/12
Decision VII/25).
The
Twentieth Meeting of the Executive Committee decided:
(a) to take note with appreciation of the report
on UNEP’s continued work on addressing the needs of low-volume-ODS-consuming countries;
(b) to note the statement of the representative of
UNEP that most ODS consumption in LVCs was concentrated in the refrigeration
sector, mainly in the servicing and maintenance sectors, and that phase-out of
ODS could be achieved largely through non-investment projects;
(c) to request UNEP to ensure that adequate
consultations were undertaken so that any policy formulated for LVCs fully
reflected the needs of those countries;
(d) to endorse in principle the proposed modality
for further action, including the development of refrigerant management plans,
subject to a review of the operational details to be presented in the UNEP work
programme;
(e) to encourage UNEP to continue exploring ways
and means of addressing the needs of LVCs, bearing in mind the requirement to
freeze consumption of controlled substances in Group I of Annex A to
the Protocol in 1999;
(e) to request UNEP to consolidate the proposals
contained in its report with a view to discussion and endorsement by the
Executive Committee and, in doing so, to assess whether the funding allocated
for projects in LVCs would be sufficient to enable compliance by those
countries with the 1999 control measures.
(UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/20/72,
Decision 20/40 , para. 60).
(Supporting document: UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/20/60).
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