Decision 97/40

The Executive Committee decided:

1. To approve, in principle, stage III of the HCFC phase-out management plan (HPMP) for Argentina for the period from 2025 to 2030 for the complete phase-out of HCFC consumption, in the amount of US $9,244,015, plus agency support costs of US $647,081, for UNIDO, on the understanding that no more funding from the Multilateral Fund would be provided for the phase-out of HCFCs;
2. To note:
   1. The commitment of the Government of Argentina:
      1. To phase out HCFCs completely by 1 January 2030 and to ban the import of HCFCs by 1 January 2030, except for those allowed for a servicing tail between 2030 and 2040, where required, consistent with the provisions of the Montreal Protocol;
      2. To establish a ban on the import of all equipment containing HCFC refrigerant and equipment requiring HCFCs for operation, servicing and maintenance by 1 January 2027, and on the manufacturing of HCFC-based aerosol and commercial refrigeration equipment by 1 January 2028;
   2. That, upon completion of the end-user projects in the supermarkets and fisheries sectors included in stage III of the HPMP, UNIDO would submit final reports on their implementation in line with decision 92/36(g), including the HCFC phase-out and the energy-efficiency gains achieved;
3. To deduct 178.79 ODP tonnes of HCFCs from the remaining HCFC consumption eligible for funding;
4. To approve the Agreement between the Government of Argentina and the Executive Committee for the reduction in consumption of HCFCs, in accordance with stage III of the HPMP, contained in annex XL to the present report;
5. To request UNIDO to submit to the 99th meeting a detailed report including updated data on refrigerant leakage rates in the fisheries sector, opportunities for additional interventions to reduce leakages in fishing vessels, progress on developing the retrofit incentive mechanism and additional information on potential technologies with lower global-warming potential that could be incorporated in the project;
6. That, to allow consideration of the final tranche of the HPMP, the Government of Argentina should submit:
   1. A detailed description of the regulatory and policy framework in place to implement measures to ensure that HCFC consumption was in compliance with paragraph 8 ter(e)(i) of Article 5 of the Montreal Protocol for the period 2030– 2040;
   2. If Argentina were intending to have consumption during the period 2030–2040, in line with paragraph 8 ter(e)(i) of Article 5 of the Montreal Protocol, proposed modifications to its Agreement with the Executive Committee covering the period beyond 2030; and
7. To approve the first tranche of stage III of the HPMP for Argentina, and the corresponding tranche implementation plan, in the amount of US $2,548,000, plus agency support costs of US $178,360, for UNIDO.