Decision XIX/20: Terms of reference for the Scientific Assessment Panel, the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel and the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel
- To note with appreciation the excellent and highly useful work conducted by the Scientific Assessment Panel, the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel and the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel and their colleagues worldwide in preparing their 2006 assessment reports, including the 2007 synthesis report;
- To request the three assessment panels to update their 2006 reports in 2010 and submit them to the Secretariat by 31 December 2010 for consideration by the Open-ended Working Group and by the Twenty-third Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in 2011;
- To request the assessment panels to keep the Parties to the Montreal Protocol informed of any important new developments;
- That for the 2010 report the Scientific Assessment Panel should consider issues including:
- Assessment of the state of the ozone layer and its future evolution;
- Evaluation of the Antarctic ozone hole and Arctic ozone depletion and the predicted changes in these phenomena;
- Evaluation of the trends in the concentration of ozone-depleting substances in the atmosphere and their consistency with reported production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances and the likely implications for the state of the ozone layer;
- Assessment of the interaction between climate change and changes on the ozone-layer;
- Assessment of the interaction between tropospheric and stratospheric ozone,
- Description and interpretation of the observed changes in global and polar ozone and in ultraviolet radiation, as well as future projections and scenarios for those variables, taking into account among other things the expected impacts of climate change;
- Assessment of consistent approaches to evaluating the impact of very short-lived substances, including potential replacements, on the ozone layer;
- Identification and reporting, as appropriate, on any other threats to the ozone layer;
- That the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel should consider the following issues for future updates and the 2010 report:
- Continued identification of the environmental impacts of ozone depletion and the environmental impacts of the interaction of ozone depletion and climate change for all areas that are assessed;
- Assessment of the effects on human health from stratospheric ozone depletion;
- Assessment of the impact of increased UV-B radiation on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and their interactions with each other and biogeochemical cycles;
- Impact of stratospheric ozone depletion on the troposphere and its implications for the environment;
- Assessment of the significance of UV-B radiation on materials;
- That the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel should, among other matters, consider the following topics:
- The impact of the phase-out of ozone-depleting substances on sustainable development, particularly in Parties operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5 and countries with economies in transition;
- Technical progress in all sectors;
- Technically and economically feasible choices for the reduction and elimination of ozone-depleting substances through the use of alternatives, taking into account their impact on climate change and overall environmental performance;
- Technical progress on the recovery, reuse and destruction of ozone-depleting substances;
- Accounting for the production and use in various applications of ozone-depleting substances, ozone-depleting substances in inventories, ozone‑depleting substances in products and the production and use in various applications of very short-lived substances;
- Accounting of emissions of all relevant ozone-depleting substances with a view to updating continuously use patterns and coordinating such data with the Scientific Assessment Panel in order periodically to reconcile estimated emissions and atmospheric concentrations;