Trinidad and Tobago participates at theTwenty-Eighth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (MOP 28)

The Twenty-Eighth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (MOP 28) took place from Monday October 10^th to Friday October 14^th, 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda. Over 500 participants attended the joint meeting representing governments, UN agencies, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, academia and the industrial sector.

MOP 28 opened with a preparatory segment on Monday 10^th October. This segment addressed the MOP’s substantive agenda items and related draft decisions. This was followed by a high-level segment, which opened on Thursday 13^th October and included ministerial speeches and the adoption of decisions forwarded by the preparatory segment. As the preparatory segment did not conclude its work on a number of contentious issues by Wednesday, it reconvened several times during the high-level segment to address outstanding issues such as the amendment of the Montreal Protocol to include Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) as part of its ambit. In order to address these key issues, MOP 28 was concluded on the morning of Saturday 15^th October, 2016.

The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago was represented at the MOP 28 by Ms. Krysten Harris, HPMP Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Environmental Policy and Planning Division, Ministry of Planning and Development.

Ms. Harris also presented at a side meeting on Wednesday 12^th October which was hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme and focused on “Safety and International Standards in Refrigeration and Air conditioning: Transitioning to safe and efficient alternatives."

 

Trinidad and Tobago was able to highlight the tremendous strides it has made in this area and received very positive feedback.

MOP 28 adopted several substantive and procedural decisions. Procedural decisions adopted included: budget; organizational issues related to the TEAP; and membership of Montreal Protocol bodies for 2016. Substantive decisions adopted include: terms of reference for the study of the 2018-2020 multilateral fund (MLF) replenishment, and essential-use and critical-use exemptions.

In addition to these decisions, a landmark decision was made to adopt the Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol. This means that under the Protocol, HFCs are now expected to be phased-down. Most developing countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, should do so using a 2020-2022 baseline (average HFC consumption), plus 65% of their baseline consumption of HCFCs, and implement a HFC freeze in 2024.