Nominations of Customs and Enforcement Officers from Bulgaria, China, France, Georgia, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Spain, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan as well as the European Commission and OLAF have been validated by the World Customs Organization, the Ozone Secretariat and UNEP Law Division’s OzonAction Programme. The awardees shall receive the prestigious Montreal Protocol medals and certificates in recognition of their strong commitment to address illegal or unwanted trade in ozone-depleting substances and fluorinated global warming substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol and its Kigali Amendment. The award aims to providing recognition and visibility to those who support the implementation of the Montreal Protocol.
In total, 64 seizures were reported during the period 2019-2020: 14,617 refrigerant cylinders / ISO containers with more than 380 metric tons of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and 215 pieces of equipment.
Informal Prior Informed Consent (iPIC) consultations between ECA countries and their trade partners prior to the issuance of the mandatory export and import licenses avoided 12 unwanted / illegal shipments of more than 167 metric tons of HCFCs and halons during the period 2019-2020.
In addition, Poland detected more than 31 metric tons of illegal HFC imports which had taken place in 2019-2020, and Spain detected illegal venting of more than 100 tons of refrigerants from recycling centers and illegal experts of more than 589 tons of hazardous waste.
OzonAction’s Montreal Protocol Network for Europe and Central Asia (ECA network) is currently producing the award medals and preparing a virtual award ceremony which is tentatively scheduled for March 2023.
Montreal Protocol Officers and focal points are encouraged to report seizures to the Ozone Secretariat (Email: mea-ozoneinfo@un.org), so that parties to the Montreal Protocol can be informed accordingly.
