The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is a global agreement to protect the Earth’s ozone layer by phasing out the chemicals that deplete it. This phase-out plan includes both the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances. The landmark agreement was signed in 1987 and entered into force in 1989.

The parties to the Protocol meet once a year to make decisions aimed at ensuring the successful implementation of the agreement. These include adjusting or amending the Protocol, which has been done six times since its creation. The most recent amendment, the Kigali Amendment, called for the phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in 2016. These HFCs were used as replacements for a batch of ozone-depleting substances eliminated by the original Montreal Protocol. Although they do not deplete the ozone layer, they are known to be powerful greenhouse gases and, thus, contributors to climate change.

The Montreal Protocol provided a set of practical, actionable tasks that were universally agreed on. The Protocol has successfully met its objectives thus far and continues to safeguard the ozone layer today. Thanks to the collaborative effort of nations around the world, the ozone layer is well on its way to recovery.

Decision XXIII/31: Status of the establishment of licensing systems under Article 4B of the Montreal Protocol

Noting that paragraph 3 of Article 4B of the Montreal Protocol requires each party, within three months of the date of introducing its system for licensing the import and export of new, used, recycled and reclaimed controlled substances in Annexes A, B, C and E of the Protocol, to report to the Secretariat on the establishment and operation of that system,

Noting with appreciation that 182 of the 185 parties to the Montreal Amendment to the Protocol have established import and export licensing systems for ozone-depleting substances as required by the Amendment and that 174 of those parties have provided disaggregated information on their licensing systems detailing which annexes and groups of substances under the Montreal Protocol are subject to those systems,

Noting also with appreciation that 10 parties to the Protocol that have not yet ratified the Montreal Amendment have also established import and export licensing systems for ozone‑depleting substances and that eight of those parties have provided disaggregated information on their licensing systems,

Recognizing that licensing systems provide for the monitoring of imports and exports of ozone‑depleting substances, prevent illegal trade and enable data collection,

Recognizing also that the successful phase-out of most ozone-depleting substances by parties is largely attributable to the establishment and implementation of licensing systems to control the import and export of ozone-depleting substances,

  1. To request Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of Korea, Dominica, Ecuador, Ghana, the Holy See, Tajikistan and Thailand, which are parties to the Montreal Amendment, and Guinea and Papua New Guinea, which are non-parties to the Montreal Amendment, none of which have yet provided disaggregated information on their licensing systems, to submit such information to the Secretariat as a matter of urgency, and no later than 31 March 2012, for consideration by the Committee at its forty-eighth meeting;
  2. To urge Ethiopia, San Marino and Timor-Leste to complete the establishment and operation of licensing systems as soon as possible and to report to the Secretariat thereon no later than 31 March 2012;
  3. To encourage Botswana, which is non-party to the Montreal Amendment to the Protocol and has not yet established a licensing system, to ratify the Amendment and to establish a licensing system to control imports and exports of ozone-depleting substances;
  4. To urge Chad, Comoros, the Gambia, the Federated States of Micronesia, Solomon Islands, Sudan and Tonga, which operate licensing systems for ozone-depleting substances that do not include export controls, to ensure that they are structured in accordance with Article 4B of the Protocol and that they provide for the licensing of exports and to report there on to the Secretariat;
  5. To urge Honduras and Togo, whose licensing systems do not regulate substances in Annex C, Group I (hydrochlorofluorocarbons), to ensure that those systems include import and export controls for the above‑mentioned substances and to report thereon to the Secretariat;
  6. To review periodically the status of the establishment of import and export licensing systems for ozone-depleting substances by all parties to the Protocol, as called for in Article 4B of the Protocol;