The 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer controls chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), synthetic compounds which deplete the ozone layer and are also greenhouse gases. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs) are used as replacements for CFCs and HCFCs in some applications, as they do not deplete the ozone layer.

HFCs and PFCs are greenhouse gases included in the basket of gases subject to emission targets under the Kyoto Protocol.

Developments under the SBSTA

During the 20th Meeting of the Parties (MOP 20) to the Montreal Protocol (Doha, Qatar, 16-18 November 2008), Parties adopted Decision XX/7 (Environmentally Sound Management of banks of ODS) and Decision XX/8 (High global warming potential alternatives for ozone-depleting substances). These decisions call for collaboration with the UNFCCC in the preparation of a series of reports, sharing information, participation in two workshops on these topics and dissemination of its outcomes.

At SBSTA 29 (December 2008), the SBSTA noted the above-mentioned decisions of the twentieth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The SBSTA encouraged the secretariat to attend the related workshops, and Parties were encouraged to include their climate experts as participants in the workshops ( FCCC/SBSTA/2008/13, paragraphs 98-99).

The workshops took place during the 29^th meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (OEWG 30, July 2009).

• Workshop on the management and destruction of ozone-depleting substance banks and implications for climate change (see related documents);
• Workshop for a dialogue on high-global warming potential alternatives for ozone-depleting substances (see related documents).

At SBSTA 30 (June 2009), the SBSTA requested the secretariat to prepare, before SBSTA 32 (June 2010), an information paper summarizing relevant cooperative activities with international organizations, including the secretariat for the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and its Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (the Ozone Secretariat).

The 21st Meeting of the Parties (MOP 21) to the Montreal Protocol took place from 4 to 6 November 2009 in Port Ghalib, Egypt. Parties adopted two relevant decisions:

• Decision XXI/2 (“Environmentally Sound Management of Banks of Ozone-Depleting Substances”), which encourages Parties to promote policies and measures aimed at avoiding the selection of high-GWP alternatives to HCFCs and other ODS in those applications where other market-available alternatives exist that minimize impacts on the environment;
• Decision XXI/9 (“Hydrochlorofluorocarbons and Environmentally Sound Alternatives”), which requests the Ozone Secretariat and related bodies to further develop methodological work concerning destruction technologies and funding possibilities. For the latter, the decision also requests to hold a seminar during OEWG-30 (Bangkok, Thailand, 21-25 June 2010).

Developments under the AWG-LCA

In the context of the process under the AWG-LCA, the negotiating text that was presented to the AWG-LCA by its Chair in its 6^th session (June 2009) and referred to the mitigation opportunities derived from different actions guided by the precautionary principle, such as promoting the phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The text also referred to a possible arrangement to reduce emissions of HFCs.

The negotiating text was subject to comments from Parties, resulting in a revised negotiating text that was further refined by submissions from Parties into a compilation of texts annexed to the report of the 7^th session of the AWG-LCA (Bangkok, September-October 2009; Barcelona, November 2009). In this compilation, reference was made to the above-mentioned mitigation opportunities, as well as to the possibility of contributing to the reduction of HFC emissions through the adoption of appropriate measures to progressively reduce production and consumption of HFCs. The text notes that these actions might have to be undertaken under the Montreal Protocol, or working through the Montreal Protocol.

In its eighth session, the AWG-LCA prepared a set of conclusions presenting the outcome of the work of the AWG-LCA to the COP, presented as draft decisions. One of these draft decisions (“Various approaches, including opportunities for using markets, to enhance the cost-effectiveness of, and to promote, mitigation actions”) includes an optional paragraph where Parties are urged, under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, to pursue the adoption of appropriate measures to reduce production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons, in the context of non-market-based approaches (FCCC/AWGLCA/2009/L.7/Add.8/Rev.1).

In order to undertake further work on these decisions, the COP established a contact group on long-term cooperative action, which, in turn, established drafting groups to work on specific draft decisions or parts thereof. The texts were considered and modified by these drafting groups ( FCCC/CP/2010/2, Annex VII).

In 2010 and 2011, Parties continue discussions on this topic under the AWG-LCA agenda item on “Various approaches, including opportunities for using markets, to enhance the cost-effectiveness of, and to promote, mitigation actions”.

Developments under the AWG-KP

The issues relating to HFCs and PFCs as well as additional new gases and methodological proposals for the measurement of GHGs are also being considered by the AWG-KP.

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The relationship between efforts to protect the ozone layer and to mitigate climate change was placed on the agenda at SBSTA 9 (Buenos Aires, November 1998). COP 4 (held during the same sessional period) invited Parties, the bodies of the Montreal Protocol, intergovernmental organizations and NGOs to provide information on "ways and means" of limiting HFC and PFC emissions, including their use as replacements for ozone-depleting substances (see decision 13/CP.4). In addition, COP 4 encouraged the convening of a joint workshop by the IPCC and the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) of the Montreal Protocol. 

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