National Ozone Officers from Latin America and the Caribbean, met in Panama City from 16-27 March 2023 to discuss and address the Kigali Amendment challenges including Montreal Protocol related activities. The series of meetings (1. Joint Network Meeting for Latin America and the Caribbean, Latin American, 2. the Caribbean Thematic Meetings and 3. Training for New National Ozone Units (NOUs) for the Caribbean and Latin America) were organised by UNEP OzonAction in collaboration with Panama’s National Ozone Unit. The Ozone Secretariat, the Multilateral Fund Secretariat, Implementing Agencies, and bilateral agencies also attended the meeting.
The Joint Network meeting was opened by Mr. Jim Curlin, Head of OzonAction, Ms. Tina Birmpili, Chief Officer, Multilateral Fund Secretariat, Mr. Juan Bello, Regional Director, UNEP Regional Office Latin America and the Caribbean, and Dr. Melva Cruz, Director General, Ministry of Health of Panama.
In his opening remarks Mr. Juan Bello, UNEP Regional Director said, “I am pleased to note that the Latin American and Caribbean regions have shown good performance in ratifying the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. Countries are facing great challenges in front of them as the control measures are very tight. These face-to-face meetings are very important to share experiences and information to prevent any country from not complying with the Kigali Amendment.”
Dr. Melva Cruz, Director General, Ministry of Health in Panama, reaffirmed Panama´s commitment to continue supporting compliance with the Montreal Protocol. She noted the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals in a comprehensive manner, improving health and well-being, food security and nutrition, promoting gender equality, and the transition towards cleaner technologies which have low global warming potential and are more efficient.
Further, the Multilateral Fund’s Chief Officer, Tina Birmpili pointed out that, “The National Ozone Officers in the Latin America and Caribbean countries have been actively engaged in the discussions on all Montreal Protocol institutions, always ensuring that developing countries receive assistance for the implementation of the Protocol’s provisions, currently negotiating the cost funding guidelines for the HFC phase-down. Countries from the Caribbean have advocated for the special needs of low-volume-consuming countries and for the disposal of controlled substances in the discussions of the funding guidelines. The amendment can change people’s lives and address the climate challenge, but only if we get moving and assist developing countries to implement it by addressing any challenges they may have. The strong engagement of the governments is what enables the implementation of robust plans that ensure sustainable reductions of controlled substances but the presence of the Multilateral Fund Secretariat is a reassurance that we are here to assist you in any way we can.”
UNEP OzonAction presented the status and trends of compliance for the two sub-regions: Latin America, and the Caribbean. Projected trends in HFC consumption were highlighted, as well as those Parties at risk of going into non-compliance with respect to attaining the 2024 HFC freeze.
The Ozone Secretariat presented relevant decisions of the Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG)/Meeting of the Parties (MOP) and baseline calculations for HFCs. The Multilateral Fund Secretariat informed on the recent decisions of the 91st Executive Committee Meeting. The decisions that pertain to a funding window on pilots for energy efficiency, preparation of national inventories and plans of action for disposal of unwanted controlled substances, and the updated format increase in funding and the extension for a 3-year period of Institutional Strengthening (IS) projects were highlighted.
UNEP OzonAction presented global examples of best practices in gender mainstreaming in the cooling sector covering the work undertaken by women, providing past and current publications, mechanisms in which women can get connected and providing various modalities for gender mainstreaming activities. Two case studies were shown from Trinidad and Tobago and Chile advocating for women’s empowerment.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency provided an overview of the HFC Licensing and Quota System in the United States. The EU presented an overview of their F-gas regulation displaying current baselines and the accelerated phase down approach in contrast to the Montreal Protocol’s schedule. Environment and Climate Change Canada provided an overview of the legislative framework for the management of ODSs and HFCs in Canada.
A field visit was organised by the Panamanian NOU to visit “Groupo Rey” which is a centre for logistical operations of El Rey supermarket chain invested in CO2 low global warning technology. The group is also committed to renewing old technology to CO2 by 2030 in all the largest supermarkets in Panama. The participants were given firsthand information on how this technology operates, and they were extremely interested in this technology choice.
UNEP OzonAction provided an overview of the capacity-building tools available to countries. They also presented global and regional awareness activities. The Kigali Amendment brochure and posters were mentioned as well as the countdown to 31 March 2023 to receive the artwork for the Regional Art Contest “The Planet is Your Canvas”
www.theplanetisyoucanvas.com. The contest has four categories: digital illustration, drawing and painting, photography, and video. The art contest is organised for both Latin America and the Caribbean.
The implementing agencies UNIDO, UNEP, UNDP, and the bilateral agency, GIZ provided an overview of the work being undertaken on a regional level. Consumption data, new refrigerants and blends, in addition to recovery and reclamation were discussed as new challenges that countries will be faced regarding compliance.
