Environment Canada's Montreal Protocol Bilateral Program

10 Years of Successful International Cooperation to Phase out Ozone Depleting Substances

• The Montreal Protocol and the Multilateral Fund: An Environmental Success Story
• Environment Canada's Montreal Protocol Bilateral Program
• CFCs: Refrigerant Management Plans (RMPs)
• Halon Banking and Management
• Methyl Bromide Replacement

Ten years old in 2003, Environment Canada's Montreal Protocol Bilateral Program is building on a history of supporting projects, fostering partnerships and transferring technology to help protect the ozone layer by phasing out ozone-depleting substances around the world. Emphasizing effective cooperation with foreign governments, United Nations agencies and environmental industries, the Program has helped the phase-out of ozone-depleting substances in more than fifteen developing countries.

The Montreal Protocol and the Multilateral Fund: An Environmental Success Story

In 1987, action to protect the earth's ozone layer was made official with the signing of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer by 24 countries under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme. The Protocol established targets and time-tables to phase out ozone-depleting substances, and has since been ratified by 183 countries.

It has proven to be a remarkable environmental success, resulting in the elimination of at least one million tonnes of annual ozone-depleting substance consumption and production, and serving as a model for emerging environmental treaties.

As most industrialized nations have successful phase-out programs, the focus now is on developing countries, where there is still substantial consumption of the most damaging ozone-depleting substances.

The Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol is the main financial instrument assisting developing countries in reducing their use of ozone-depleting substances. The Fund is financed through annual contributions by developed countries. It is managed by a Secretariat, located in Montreal, Canada, and an Executive Committee composed of fourteen Montreal Protocol Parties, elected on a rotating basis.

Projects under the Multilateral Fund have so far eliminated over 180,000 tonnes of annual ozone-depleting substance consumption and production in the developing world. As a result, there has been significant reduction in the use of the substances in major consuming countries such as China, Mexico, Thailand and Turkey.

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Environment Canada's Montreal Protocol Bilateral Program

Canada meets its commitments to the Multilateral Fund through a financial transfer by the Canadian International Development Agency, and through contributions by Environment Canada in the form of bilateral projects. Drawing on Canadian and international technical know-how and policy expertise, Environment Canada works with a partner country on identifying solutions for alternatives to ozone-depleting substances and reducing their use.

On average, about $1 million (Cdn.) in projects are approved each year. Locations include countries such as Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Uruguay, Venezuela and several small Caribbean states.

The most common ozone-depleting substances are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), used in refrigeration, air conditioning, foam products, solvents and aerosols. Others are: halons, used in fire extinguishing systems; carbon tetrachloride used in solvents and various industrial processes; and methyl bromide, used in fumigation practices. The Montreal Protocol calls for complete phase-out of most of these substances in developing countries by 2010, although a few can still be consumed several years beyond.

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CFCs: Refrigerant Management Plans (RMPs)

Course on Good Refrigeration Practices in Santiago, Chile

During its early years (1994-96), the Program supported mostly awareness-raising workshops and small demonstration projects. Since the late 1990s, the focus has been on Refrigeration Management Plans - comprehensive strategies to phase out CFCs in the servicing of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment.

RMPs include development of policies and regulations to restrict the import and supply of CFCs, training of refrigeration technicians in practices to reduce emissions of CFCs from equipment, implementation of CFC recovery and recycling techniques, and training of customs officers in detection and identification methods to control trade in ozone-depleting substances.

The Montreal Protocol Bilateral Program is currently collaborating on the implementation of nine RMPs, mostly in Latin America and the Caribbean. Several are also in partnership with the OzonAction Programme of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Considerable success has been achieved due to each Plan being adapted to the country's needs. In Cuba, for instance, one of the refrigerants selected as a substitute for CFCs is a locally produced hydrocarbon gas. With additional contributions from the Government of Germany and Canada's Climate Change Action Fund, Cuba is receiving assistance with purification of the hydrocarbon gas to improve its cooling performance and efficiency.

Success has also been achieved in reducing CFC consumption in several countries. Refrigeration technicians are reducing the need for new supplies of CFCs as they repair leaks, retrofit systems with alternatives and recover, recycle and re-use CFCs.

• Jamaica's efforts have been so successful that the country is on schedule to completely eliminate CFC consumption by 2006, four years ahead of the Montreal Protocol requirement.
• Following the implementation of RMPs, Uruguay reduced CFC consumption in the servicing of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment by approximately 25 per cent, and St. Lucia by about 50 per cent.
• RMP implementation has recently been initiated in Bolivia and Chile, both of which have committed to achieving an 85 per cent CFC reduction by 2007.

Technician recovering and recycling CFCs
from a bus in La Havana, Cuba.

The Bilateral Program relies on a variety of expertise and technology. For instance, the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada has trained technicians, while various Environment Canada officials have contributed valuable advice and expertise for the training of customs officers and the development of policies and regulations. Equipment suppliers have provided CFC recovery and recycling machines as well as specialized tools to detect and repair CFC leaks from refrigeration systems.

Identification of cylinders containing CFCs.

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Halon Banking and Management

Halons are potent ozone-depleting substances used in fixed and portable fire extinguishing systems. Because some halons are still considered critical for effective fire protection, the Montreal Protocol allows certain uses. To eliminate dependency on new supplies of halons, many countries have established halon banking programs where those from non-essential applications are recovered and refurbished to be used in the essential applications.

Workshop on the development of a halon
management plan for English-speaking
Caribbean countries, Port-of-Spain,
Trinidad and Tobago.

• In Venezuela, the Bilateral Program helped to set up a halon banking program, including a centralized halon recycling and refurbishing facility. As a result of the project, the country has eliminated imports of new halons.
• In cooperation with Environment Australia, a similar project is now underway in India, where there is a commitment to ban the consumption of new halons following project implementation.
• The Bilateral Program is also cooperating with UNEP in the development and implementation of a halon banking management plan for the English-speaking Caribbean.

Demonstration of halon recovery and
recycling in Delhi, India.

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Methyl Bromide Replacement

Methyl bromide is a toxic ozone-depleting substance used in fumigation of soil and commodities to control pests and insects. The Bilateral Program has successfully demonstrated an alternative to methyl bromide, diatomaceous earth, in China and is undertaking a similar demonstration in Kenya. The Bilateral Program is also collaborating with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in the development of a methyl bromide replacement project in Indonesia.

For more information:

Philippe Chemouny, Manager
Montreal Protocol Program
International Technology Cooperation Division
Environmental Technology Advancement Directorate
Environment Canada
351 St. Joseph Blvd.
Gatineau, Quebec, K1A 0H3
CANADA
Tel.: (819) 997-2768
Fax: (819) 997-8427
E-mail: philippe.chemouny@ec.gc.ca

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada (Environment Canada) 2003