Koror, the Republic of Palau, 7 – 11 June 2024 – UNEP’s OzonAction Asia-Pacific Compliance Assistance Programme (CAP) team organized the Training of New National Ozone Officers/National Ozone Unit Staff and the Network Meeting of the National Ozone Officers of the Pacific Island Countries (PIC) Network.
Training of New National Ozone Officers (NOOs)/National Ozone Unit (NOU) Staff
New NOOs/NOU staff, as frontline implementers of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and the Kigali Amendment, have officially assumed their roles in the PICs. Conducted on 7 – 8 June 2024, UNEP’s OzonAction Asia-Pacific CAP team delivered the training to provide the NOOs/NOU staff with fundamental knowledge, information tools, and skills to help them support their government in fulfilling commitments agreed upon by all Parties to the Montreal Protocol and Multilateral Fund projects.
UNEP CAP team provided a well-rounded and standardized training programme to equipping the NOOs and NOU staff with the necessary knowledge and skills. The programme consists of a comprehensive suite of training materials, leveraging a variety of resources, including concise background documents, presentation slides, handouts, checklists, quizzes, interactive exercises, evaluation tools, and guides for both pre- and post-training activities. Additionally, the program offers a compilation of helpful supplementary resources.
"Participating in the training for New National Ozone Officer was a transformative experience. As a frontline implementer of the Montreal Protocol and the Kigali Amendment in Vanuatu, I gained essential knowledge and practical skills from the comprehensive training program. This training will enable me to apply knowledge to meet the unique needs of our country and tailor our efforts to ensure effective implementation. I am confident that what I learned will significantly enhance our national capacity and drive meaningful progress in Vanuatu," – said Ms. Camilla Moana Noel, Assistant Ozone Officer, Vanuatu.
The training was attended by a total number of 12 participants (five male/seven female) from 11 countries. It served a dual purpose: strengthening national capacity and providing the CAP team with a valuable opportunity to identify the specific requirements of each implementing country. This knowledge allows UNEP OzonAction to tailor its services to effectively address the unique needs of each country, thereby facilitating the smooth implementation of the Montreal Protocol.
Network Meeting of the National Ozone Officers of the Pacific Island Countries Network
Conducted on 10 – 11 June 2024, the Network Meeting of the National Ozone Officers of the PIC Network was organized to exchange experiences and best practices in various areas under the Montreal Protocol and to further discuss the implementation of conclusions and recommendations from previous meetings.
Attended by a total number of 30 participants (13 male/17 female) from 14 PICs, the Government of Australia, the Multilateral Fund Secretariat, resource persons, and UNEP, participants reviewed compliance with hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) phase-out obligations based on the 2022 data reported to the Ozone Secretariat and further examined the readiness of the PICs to meet the phase-out obligation in 2025, which is six months from now. As PICs that are Parties to the Kigali Amendment have the obligation to freeze hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) consumption, the meeting assessed the risk of non-compliance for the 2024 freeze level based on the 2022 Article 7 data. Most importantly, the meeting provided the opportunity for the PICs to share experiences and perspectives to simultaneously manage HCFC phase-out and HFC phase-down from 1 January 2024.
UNEP CAP team provided a well-rounded and standardized training programme to equipping the NOOs and NOU staff with the necessary knowledge and skills. The programme consists of a comprehensive suite of training materials, leveraging a variety of resources, including concise background documents, presentation slides, handouts, checklists, quizzes, interactive exercises, evaluation tools, and guides for both pre- and post-training activities. Additionally, the program offers a compilation of helpful supplementary resources.
Participants also discussed data differences between the Article 7 data and validated data from the survey under the Kigali HFC Implementation Plan (KIP) of all PICs, addressing the identified challenges in monitoring and tracking HFC data, which is more complex than HCFC data reporting. Countries exchanged their ideas on the way forward to address data differences and strengthen data reporting.
Countries further discussed and shared experiences in implementing HFC quota allocation and monitoring in tonnes of CO2 equivalent to enhance the enforcement of HFC licensing systems. Due to the complexity of the HFC quota system and variations in Global Warming Potential (GWP) values assigned to controlled HFCs, all countries are strongly encouraged to implement a monitoring and tracking system for HFCs. This system should be designed by leveraging the valuable insights gleaned from the HCFC licensing system. The verification of a country's HCFC consumption serves as a critical mechanism to identify shortcomings in the implementation process. It helps to pinpoint areas where licensing and quota systems can be further strengthened. Countries must maintain a robust national system to control HCFC and HFC imports through quotas, licenses, and other relevant mechanisms to strengthen monitoring and reporting.
In particular, the NOOs were recommended to collaborate with the Climate Change Office to streamline the process of collecting, analyzing, and standardizing data for ozone-depleting substances (ODS)/HFC and the greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories. This collaboration is practiced by Tonga, Palau, Fiji, and Vanuatu in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and is intended to improve the efficiency of data collection and analysis.
“This has been a very educational experience for Papua New Guinea. Our country, preparing to achieve a 100% HCFC phase-out by 2025 under the HPMP, the meeting was organized at the right time to prepare ourselves in the next 6 months. The discussions on best practices to manage HCFC phase-out were particularly relevant, especially in sectors that have remaining use of HCFCs. The network meeting provided valuable insights into best practices for managing the complexities of HFC data tracking and quota systems, which we can used for the future control of HFCs,” said Ms. Kathrina Mogia, National Ozone Officer, Papua New Guinea.
UNEP CAP team expressed its sincere gratitude to the Government of Palau for their smooth coordination and generous hospitality in hosting both the training and meeting organized by UNEP OzonAction CAP, Asia and the Pacific Office in partnership with the Government of Australia as the developed country partner in the PIC network. The Network Meeting is part of its approved 2024 Work Programme under the Multilateral Fund.
For more information:
Mr. Pipat Poopeerasupong
Interim Montreal Protocol Regional Coordinator, Southeast Asia, and Pacific Island Countries
UNEP, Compliance Assistance Programme (CAP)
Asia and Pacific Office
Email: poopeerasupong@un.org
