Decision 87/52

The Executive Committee decided:

1. To note the key aspects related to HFC-23 by-product control technologies: Argentina (decision 86/95) contained in document UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/87/53;
2. To approve, in principle, US $2,262,630, plus agency support costs of US $158,384, for UNIDO to enable the Government of Argentina to comply with the HFC-23 by-product emission control obligations under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, on the understanding that:
   1. The Government of Argentina would ensure that, by 1 January 2022 and thereafter, emissions of HFC-23 by-product from the HCFC-22 production line were destroyed in compliance with the Montreal Protocol and that emissions from the line were at or below 0.1 kg of HFC-23 emissions per 100 kg of HCFC-22 produced;
   2. A maximum amount of US $502,766, out of the total funding approved, was associated with incremental operating costs and would be divided in annual tranches to be provided to Argentina upon verification of the quantity of HFC-23 by-product destroyed;
   3. The incremental operating costs in each annual tranche would be calculated by multiplying the quantity of HFC-23 destroyed by US $1.40/kg;
   4. The Government of Argentina would have flexibility to use the funding approved in principle indicated in sub-paragraph (b) above to compensate the production plant, Frio Industrias Argentinas, for the closure of its HCFC-22 production should the plant decide to close its HCFC-22 production line permanently prior to 1 January 2024, with the exception of any funds approved for independent verification for years subsequent to the year of closure, which should be returned to the Multilateral Fund; and any production of any other substance listed in Annex C or F to the Montreal Protocol at that facility would not be eligible for funding;
   5. The project would be completed by 1 January 2031;
   6. The Government of Argentina committed to there being no additional funding from other sources for HFC-23 by-product emissions control at Frio Industrias Argentinas during or after completion of the project, including HFC-23 credits or offsets;
3. To note:
   1. That the funding approved in principle specified in sub-paragraph (b) above was the total funding that would be available to the Government of Argentina from the Multilateral Fund for the control of HFC-23 by-product emissions;
   2. That the costs agreed recognized the special circumstances of the project in Argentina and did not set a precedent for the calculation of costs for any other projects for the control of HFC-23 by-product emissions;
4. To request the Secretariat, in cooperation with UNIDO, to prepare a draft Agreement between the Government of Argentina and the Executive Committee for the control of HFC‑23 by-product emissions, in accordance with the present decision, for consideration at the 88th meeting, using the Agreement between the Government of Mexico and the Executive Committee for the destruction of emissions of HFC-23 generated in the production of HCFC-22 at Quimobásicos (decision 87/53) as a starting point and in light of the guidance provided by the Executive Committee at the 87th meeting;
5. To approve the first tranche of the project to control HFC-23 by-product emissions in Argentina in the amount of US $1,527,851, plus agency support costs of US $106,950 for UNIDO; and
6. To request the Government of Argentina, through UNIDO, to submit an annual implementation plan, in accordance with the anticipated draft Agreement referred to in sub‑paragraph (d) above, for consideration at the 88th meeting.