Decision XXX/15: Review of the terms of reference, composition, balance, fields of expertise and workload of the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel
Noting that the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel and the technical options committees, through the provision of independent technical and scientific assessments and information, have helped the parties reach informed decisions,
Recalling paragraph 5 (e) of decision VII/34, on the organization and functioning of the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel and specifically on efforts to increase the participation of experts from parties operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5 in order to improve geographical expertise and balance,
Recalling also decision XXVIII/1, by which the parties adopted the amendment to the Montreal Protocol, on the phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons,
Recalling further decision XXVIII/3, in which the parties recognized that a phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons under the Montreal Protocol would present additional opportunities to catalyse and secure improvements in the energy efficiency of appliances and equipment,
Recalling the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel report of May 2013 in response to decision XXIV/8 and volume 5 of the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel report of May 2014, in response to decision XXV/6, which provides useful details on the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel and its subsidiary bodies, and their terms of reference, composition, balance, and fields of expertise,
Noting with appreciation the analysis provided by the Ozone Secretariat of the many types of reports produced by the Panel for the parties and the timing of the many requests for these reports,
- To request the Ozone Secretariat to prepare a document in consultation with the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel, for the Open-ended Working Group at its forty-first meeting, taking into account the ongoing efforts by the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel to respond to changing circumstances, including the Kigali Amendment, in relation to the following:
- Terms of reference, composition, and balance with regard to geography, representation of parties operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5 and parties not so operating, and gender;
- The fields of expertise required for the upcoming challenges related to the implementation of the Kigali Amendment, such as energy efficiency, climate benefits and safety;
- To note that paragraphs 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the present decision supersede prior direction to the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel regarding periodicity of assessments of process agents, laboratory and analytical applications, destruction technologies, n-propyl bromide and possible new substances;
- To request the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel to provide their review of process‑agent uses of controlled substances no earlier than 2021, and every four years thereafter, if new compelling information becomes available;
- Also to request the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel to provide a review of the laboratory and analytical uses of controlled substances if new compelling information becomes available indicating an opportunity for significant reductions in production and consumption;
- Further to request the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel, following the submission of the report called for in decision XXX/6, to provide a review of destruction technologies, if new compelling information becomes available;
- To request the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel to provide information to the parties on n-propyl bromide (nPB) if new compelling information is available, and on possible new substances if any previously unreported substances are identified that may have a likelihood of substantial production;