Decision 55/40

After consultations to resolve Members’ reservations concerning the project, the Executive Committee decided:

1. To take note of the specific situation in Yemen, namely that
   1. The only commercially available and proven CFC-11 replacement technology available as a foam blowing agent in the country was HCFC‑141b;
   2. The limited time available for implementation before the complete phase‑out of CFCs in 2010 would not allow for the timely introduction of a new non-HCFC-based technology, thus putting the country at risk of non‑compliance;
   3. The amount of CFC-11 to be phased out under the phase-out plan represented only 2.2 per cent of the national CFC baseline;
2. To note that intensive consultations had taken place within the Executive Committee with a view to finding the best way forward in order to reconcile the spirit expressed in decision XIX/6 of the Nineteenth Meeting of the Parties regarding HCFC phase-out with the conditions of the phase-out plan. In particular, a two-stage approach to ODS phase-out with HCFC-141b as an interim step was the most suitable approach in view of the urgency of the assistance needed at a time when alternatives to CFC-11 other than HCFC-141b were not yet widely available in Article 5 countries;
3. To approve, in principle, the national ODS phase-out plan for Yemen, at an amount of US $455,000 plus agency support costs of US $59,150 for UNEP and US $1,370,500 plus support costs of US $102,788 for UNIDO, on the understanding that:
   1. The Government of Yemen would not request any more funding from the Multilateral Fund in relation to the phase-out of CFC MDIs in the country;
   2. Once other ODS-free technologies became available, the Government of Yemen could submit a request for a second-stage conversion to a non-ODS technology for those enterprises covered under the ODS phase-out plan as part of their HPMP;
   3. No aspect of the decision on the phase-out plan would constitute a precedent for future decisions of the Executive Committee;
4. To approve the agreement between the Government of Yemen and the Executive Committee for implementation of the national ODS phase-out plan, as contained in Annex XV to the present report;
5. To urge UNEP and UNIDO to take full account of the requirements of decisions 41/100 and 49/6 of the Executive Committee during implementation of the terminal phase-out management plan; and
6. To approve the first tranche of the plan at the funding levels indicated in Annex IV to [document UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/55/53/Corr.2].