July 8, 2005

Building on success and facing the challenges ahead – the Multilateral Fund

The Multilateral Fund is dedicated to reversing the deterioration of the Earth's ozone layer.  Its success was highlighted this week at the meeting of the Fund’s Executive Committee in Montreal where it was reported that projects financed by the Fund have so far eliminated the annual consumption of 243,207 tonnes of ozone depleting substances (ODSs).   Multilateral Fund projects are extraordinarily cost effective:  one kilogramme of ODS can be phased-out for less than US $5 of Fund finance.   A typical project can be completed within 33 months of financing approval.  In spite of the success of the Fund to date many challenges lie ahead. Under the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement that sets out a timetable for the phase-out of ODS in both developed and developing countries, the last 50 per cent of the main categories of ODS in developing countries must be phased out between 2005 and 2010.

Also this week, the Executive Committee approved over US $23 million in new projects for developing countries to phase out another 6,500 tonnes of ozone-depleting substances.  The Committee also agreed a total of US $3.1 million to finance a comprehensive plan to assist Egypt to completely phase-out the use of CFCs in the refrigeration sector by 2010 – the deadline set by the Montreal Protocol.  Another US $2 million in Multilateral Fund support will go to Brazil for a project that will lead to the total elimination of the use of methyl bromide, an ozone depleting substances used  for fumigating soil and controlling pests.

The Committee also put into place procedures for verifying national ODS reduction targets in multi-year projects financed by the Fund.  These procedures would assist in confirming that agreed reduction targets have been met so that the Committee could approve further disbursements of funds to the projects in a transparent process with full accountability to contributing countries.

More information on projects and activities recently funded by the Multilateral Fund can be found in the report of the Executive Committee which will be published on the Fund’s web site (www.multilateralfund.org) in the near future.

Background information

The ozone layer which absorbs ultraviolet radiation harmful to living organisms and human health, is in danger from several chemicals currently used in industry and agriculture such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, carbon tetrachloride, methyl chloroform and methyl bromide.

The Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol began its operation in 1991. The main objective of the Multilateral Fund is to assist developing country parties to the Montreal Protocol whose annual per capita consumption and production of ozone-depleting substances is less than 0.3 kg to comply with the control measures of the Protocol. These countries are referred to as Article 5 countries.

The 2 billion dollar Fund is managed by an Executive Committee chaired in 2005 by Paul Krajnik of Austria, Khaled Klaly of Syria is the Vice Chair. The Committee is assisted by the Fund Secretariat which is based in Montreal. Activities are implemented by four international agencies (UNDP, UNEP, UNIDO, World Bank) and a number of bilateral government agencies.  Responsibility for overseeing the operation of the Fund rests with the Executive Committee comprising seven members each from developed (Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Japan, United Kingdom and the USA) and developing countries (Brazil, Cuba, Niger, the Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Zambia.  Since 1991, the Multilateral Fund has approved activities including industrial conversion, technical assistance, training and capacity building worth almost US $1.74 billion.

For further information, please contact:

Julia Anne Dearing

Information Management Officer

Secretariat of the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol

1800 McGill College, 27th floor

Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 3J6

Phone: (1-514) 282-1122

Fax: (1-514) 282-0068

E-mail: secretariat@unmfs.org

Website:  www.multilateralfund.org