June 4, 2007

World Environment Day: Melting Ice – a Hot Topic?

World Environment Day is commemorated each year on 5 June. The theme of this year’s World Environment Day, “Melting Ice – a Hot Topic?”, reflects the importance of climate change as one of the major issues on the global agenda and focuses particular attention on the challenges facing the people and ecosystems of the Arctic and Antarctic. 

To mark World Environment Day the Multilateral Fund Secretariat will be celebrating here in Montreal.  Staff from the Multilateral Fund Secretariat will be hosting a small exhibition in the Montreal Trust Building. and distributing information materials about World Environment Day,  the Multilateral Fund activities as well as some information about the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol scheduled to take  place in Montreal in September 2007.

In 1991 the Secretariat of the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol was the first United Nations Environment Programme body to be hosted by the Government of Canada.   The Multilateral Fund is dedicated to reversing the deterioration of the Earth's ozone layer caused by ozone depleting substances (ODS) such as CFCs.  The Fund provides financial resources to developing countries to help them comply with their commitments for phasing-out ozone-depleting substances (ODS) as set out in an international agreement, the Montreal Protocol. The elimination of these substances will enable the ozone layer to repair itself and so protect future generations from harmful UV radiation. To date the Fund has disbursed around US$ 2 billion to about 5500 projects in 144 countries.  The Montreal Protocol and the Multilateral Fund have also contributed to reductions in the emissions of greenhouse gases (the atmospheric gases responsible for causing global warming and climate change) since most ozone depleting substances are also greenhouse gases.

The Secretariat of the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol has been located in Montreal since the Multilateral Fund was established as a trust fund under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1991.   The Montreal Protocol is celebrating 20 years of progress in 2007.

More information on World Environment Day can be found at www.unep.org/wed/. Information about the Multilateral Fund and the Montreal Protocol can be found at www.multilateralfund.org and www.unep.org/ozone/.