Recalling decision XXVIII/1, by which the Meeting of the Parties adopted the amendment to the Montreal Protocol set out in annex I to the report of the Twenty-Eighth Meeting of the Parties (hereinafter referred to as the Amendment),

1. That paragraphs 2 and 4 of Article 2J in Article I of the Amendment are applicable to Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan;
2. That subparagraphs (b), (d) and (f) of paragraph 8 qua of Article 5 in Article I of the Amendment are applicable to Bahrain, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (hereinafter referred to as Article 5, group 2, parties);

Elements in paragraph 1 (a) of decision XXVI/9, including intellectual property rights issues in considering the feasibility and ways of managing hydrofluorocarbons

3. To recognize the importance of timely updating international standards for flammable
   low-global-warming potential (GWP) refrigerants, including IEC60335-2-40, and to support promoting actions that allow safe market introduction, as well as manufacturing, operation, maintenance and handling, of zero‑GWP or low-GWP refrigerant alternatives to hydrochlorofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons;
4. To request the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel to conduct periodic reviews of alternatives, using the criteria set out in paragraph 1 (a) of decision XXVI/9, in 2022 and every five years thereafter, and to provide technological and economic assessments of the latest available and emerging alternatives to hydrofluorocarbons;
5. To request the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel to conduct a technology review four or five years before 2028 to consider a compliance deferral of two years from the freeze date of 2028 for Article 5, group 2, parties to address growth above a certain threshold in relevant sectors;

Relationship with the HCFC phase-out

6. To acknowledge the linkage between the hydrofluorocarbon and hydrochlorofluorocarbon reduction schedules relevant to sectors and the preference to avoid transitions from hydrochlorofluorocarbons to high-GWP hydrofluorocarbons and to provide flexibility if no other technically proven and economically viable alternatives are available;
7. To also acknowledge these linkages with respect to certain sectors, in particular industrial process refrigeration, and the preference to avoid transitions from hydrochlorofluorocarbons to high-GWP hydrofluorocarbons and to be willing to provide flexibility, if no other alternatives are available, in cases where:
   1. hydrochlorofluorocarbon supply may be unavailable from existing allowable consumption, stocks as well as recovered/recycled material, and
   2. it would allow for a direct transition at a later date from hydrochlorofluorocarbons to low-GWP or zero-GWP alternatives;
8. To provide, prior to the commencement of the Article 5 hydrofluorocarbon freeze and in the light of the acknowledgement in paragraph 7 above, flexibility measures in relation to the hydrochlorofluorocarbon phase-out relevant to certain sectors, in particular the industrial process refrigeration subsector, in order to avoid double conversions;

Financial issues

       Overarching principles and timelines

9. To recognize that the Amendment maintains the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol as the financial mechanism and that sufficient additional financial resources will be provided by parties not operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5 to offset costs arising out of hydrofluorocarbon obligations for parties operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5 under the Amendment;
10. To request the Executive Committee to develop, within two years of the adoption of the Amendment, guidelines for financing the phase-down of hydrofluorocarbon consumption and production, including cost-effectiveness thresholds, and to present those guidelines to the Meeting of the Parties for the parties’ views and inputs before their finalization by the Executive Committee;
11. To request the Chair of the Executive Committee to report back to the Meeting of the Parties on the progress made in accordance with this decision, including on cases where Executive Committee deliberations have resulted in a change in a national strategy or a national technology choice submitted to the Executive Committee;
12. To request the Executive Committee to revise the rules of procedure of the Executive Committee with a view to building in more flexibility for parties operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5;

      Flexibility in implementation that enables parties to select their own strategies and priorities in sectors and technologies

13. That parties operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5 will have flexibility to prioritize hydrofluorocarbons, define sectors, select technologies and alternatives and elaborate and implement their strategies to meet agreed hydrofluorocarbon obligations, based on their specific needs and national circumstances, following a country-driven approach;
14. To request the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund to incorporate the principle referred to in paragraph 13 above into relevant funding guidelines for the phase‑down of hydrofluorocarbons and in its decision-making process;

    Guidance to the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund with respect to the consumption, production and servicing sectors

15. To request the Executive Committee, in developing new guidelines on methodologies and cost calculations, to make the following categories of costs eligible and to include them in the cost calculation:
    1. For the consumption manufacturing sector:
       1. Incremental capital costs;
       2. Incremental operating costs for a duration to be determined by the Executive Committee;
       3. Technical assistance activities;
       4. Research and development, when required to adapt and optimize low-GWP or zero-GWP alternatives to hydrofluorocarbons;
       5. Costs of patents and designs, and incremental costs of royalties, when necessary and cost-effective;
       6. Costs of the safe introduction of flammable and toxic alternatives;
    2. For the production sector:
       1. Lost profit due to the shutdown/closure of production facilities as well as production reduction;
       2. Compensation to displaced workers;
       3. Dismantling of production facilities;
       4. Technical assistance activities;
       5. Research and development related to the production of low-GWP or zero-GWP alternatives to hydrofluorocarbons with a view to lowering the costs of alternatives;
       6. Costs of patents and designs or incremental costs of royalties;
       7. Costs of converting facilities to produce low-GWP or zero-GWP alternatives to hydrofluorocarbons when technically feasible and cost-effective;
       8. Costs of reducing emissions of HFC-23, a by-product from the production process of HCFC-22, by reducing its emission rate in the process, destroying it from the off-gas, or by collecting and converting it to other environmentally safe chemicals. Such costs should be funded by the Multilateral Fund to meet the obligations of Parties operating under paragraph 1 of Article 5 specified under the Amendment;
    3. For the servicing sector:
       1. Public-awareness activities;
       2. Policy development and implementation;
       3. Certification programmes and training of technicians on safe handling, good practice and safety in respect of alternatives, including training equipment;
       4. Training of customs officers;
       5. Prevention of illegal trade of hydrofluorocarbons;
       6. Servicing tools;
       7. Refrigerant testing equipment for the refrigeration and air-conditioning  sector;
       8. Recycling and recovery of hydrofluorocarbons;
16. To request the Executive Committee to increase in relation to the servicing sector the funding available under Executive Committee Decision 74/50 above the amounts listed in that decision for parties with total hydrochlorofluorocarbon baseline consumption up to 360 metric tonnes when needed for the introduction of alternatives to hydrochlorofluorocarbons with low-GWP and zero-GWP alternatives to hydrofluorocarbons and maintaining energy efficiency also in the servicing/end-user sector;

     Cut-off date for eligible capacity

17. That the cut-off date for eligible capacity is 1 January 2020 for those parties with baseline years from 2020 to 2022 and 1 January 2024 for those parties with baseline years from 2024 to 2026;

     Second and third conversions

18. To request the Executive Committee to incorporate the following principles relating to second and third conversions into funding guidelines:
    1. First conversions, in the context of a phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons, are defined as conversions to low-GWP or zero-GWP alternatives of enterprises that have never received any direct or indirect support, in part or in full, from the Multilateral Fund, including enterprises that converted to hydrofluorocarbons with their own resources;
    2. Enterprises that have already converted to hydrofluorocarbons in phasing out chlorofluorocarbons and/or hydrochlorofluorocarbons will be eligible to receive funding from the Multilateral Fund to meet agreed incremental costs in the same manner as enterprises eligible for first conversions;
    3. Enterprises that convert from hydrochlorofluorocarbons to high-GWP hydrofluorocarbons, after the date of adoption of the Amendment, under hydrochlorofluorocarbon phase-out management plans already approved by the Executive Committee will be eligible to receive funding from the Multilateral Fund for a subsequent conversion to low-GWP or zero-GWP alternatives to meet agreed incremental costs in the same manner as enterprises eligible for first conversions;
    4. Enterprises that convert from hydrochlorofluorocarbons to high-GWP hydrofluorocarbons with their own resources before 2025 under the Amendment will be eligible to receive funding from the Multilateral Fund to meet agreed incremental costs in the same manner as enterprises eligible for first conversions;
    5. Enterprises that convert from hydrofluorocarbons to lower-GWP hydrofluorocarbons with Multilateral Fund support when no other alternatives are available will be eligible to receive funding from the Multilateral Fund for a subsequent conversion to low-GWP or zero-GWP alternatives if necessary to meet the final hydrofluorocarbon phase-down step;

      Sustained aggregate reductions

19. To request the Executive Committee to incorporate the following principle related to sustained aggregate reductions into Multilateral Fund policies: remaining eligible consumption for funding in tonnage will be determined on the basis of the starting point of national aggregate consumption less the amount funded by previously approved projects in future multi-year agreement templates for hydrofluorocarbon phase-down plans, consistent with Executive Committee decision 35/57;

     Enabling activities

20. To request the Executive Committee to include the following enabling activities to be funded in relation to the hydrofluorocarbon phase-down under the Amendment:
    1. Capacity-building and training for the handling of hydrofluorocarbon alternatives in the servicing, manufacturing and production sectors;
    2. Institutional strengthening;
    3. Article 4B licensing;
    4. Reporting;
    5. Demonstration projects; and
    6. Development of national strategies;

    Institutional strengthening

21. To direct the Executive Committee to increase institutional strengthening support in light of the new commitments related to hydrofluorocarbons under the Amendment;

     Energy efficiency

22. To request the Executive Committee to develop cost guidance associated with maintaining and/or enhancing the energy efficiency of low-GWP or zero-GWP replacement technologies and equipment, when phasing down hydrofluorocarbons, while taking note of the role of other institutions addressing energy efficiency, when appropriate;

    Capacity-building to address safety

23. To request the Executive Committee to prioritize technical assistance and capacity‑building to address safety issues associated with low-GWP or zero-GWP alternatives;

     Disposal

24. To request the Executive Committee to consider funding the cost-effective management of stockpiles of used or unwanted controlled substances, including destruction;

    Other costs

25. That the parties may identify other cost items to be added to the indicative list of incremental costs emanating as a result of  the conversion to low-GWP alternatives;

Exemption for high-ambient-temperature parties

26. To make available an exemption for parties with high ambient temperature conditions where suitable alternatives do not exist for the specific sub-sector of use, as described below;
27. To distinguish and separate this exemption from the essential-use and critical-use exemptions under the Montreal Protocol;
28. To make this exemption effective and available as of the hydrofluorocarbon freeze date, with an initial duration of four years;
29. To apply this exemption for sub-sectors, contained in Appendix I of this decision, in parties with an average of at least two months per year over ten consecutive years with a peak monthly average temperature above 35 degrees Celsius, where the party listed in Appendix II has formally notified the Secretariat of its intent to use this exemption no later than one year before the hydrofluorocarbon freeze date, and every four years thereafter should it wish to extend the exemption;[1],[2]
30. That any party operating under this high-ambient-temperature exemption will report separately its production and consumption data for the sub-sectors to which the exemption applies;
31. That any transfer of production and consumption allowances for this high-ambient-temperature exemption will be reported to the Secretariat under Article 7 of the Protocol by each of the parties concerned;
32. That the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel and a subsidiary body of the Panel that includes outside experts on high ambient temperatures will assess the suitability of hydrofluorocarbon alternatives for use where suitable alternatives do not exist based on criteria agreed by the parties that will include, but not be limited to, the criteria listed in paragraph 1 (a) of decision XXVI/9, and recommend sub-sectors to be added to or removed from appendix I to the present decision and report this information to the Meeting of the Parties;
33. That the assessment referred to in paragraph 32 above will take place periodically starting four years from the hydrofluorocarbon freeze date and every four years thereafter;
34. To review, no later than the year following receipt of the first report of the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel on the suitability of alternatives, the need for an extension of the high‑ambient-temperature exemption for a further period of up to four years, and periodically thereafter, for specific sub-sectors in parties that meet the criteria set out in paragraph 29 above, and that parties will develop an expedited process for ensuring the renewal of the exemption in a timely manner where there are no feasible alternatives, taking into account the recommendation of the Panel and its subsidiary body;
35. That amounts of Annex F substances that are subject to the high-ambient-temperature exemption are not eligible for funding under the Multilateral Fund while they are exempted for that party;
36. That the Implementation Committee under the Non-Compliance Procedure of the Montreal Protocol and the Meeting of the Parties should, for 2025 and 2026, defer consideration of the hydrochlorofluorocarbon compliance status of any party operating under a high-ambient-temperature exemption in cases where it has exceeded its allowable consumption or production levels due to its HCFC-22 consumption or production for the sub-sectors listed in appendix I to the present decision, on the condition that the party concerned is following the phase-out schedule for consumption and production of hydrochlorofluorocarbons for other sectors and has formally requested a deferral through the Secretariat;
37. To consider, no later than 2026, whether to extend the compliance deferral referred to in paragraph 36 for an additional period of two years and, if appropriate, to consider further deferrals thereafter, for parties operating under the high-ambient-temperature exemption;

Other exemptions

38. To allow for other exemptions, such as for essential uses and critical uses, for production or consumption that is necessary to satisfy uses agreed by the parties to be exempted uses;
39. To consider mechanisms for such exemptions in 2029, including multi-year exemption mechanisms;
40. To provide information and guidance to the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel for its periodic review of sectors where exemptions may be required;

Appendix I: List of exempted equipment for high ambient temperatures

1. Multi-split air conditioners (commercial and residential)
2. Split ducted air conditioners (commercial and residential)
3. Ducted commercial packaged (self-contained) air-conditioners

Appendix II: List of countries operating under the high-ambient-temperature exemption

Algeria, Bahrain, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Togo, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates.