April 11, 2020

Working group on Kigali amendments of The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer meets online

Working group on Kigali amendments of The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer meets online

Working group on Kigali amendments of The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer met online on April 8, 2020.

The meeting was organized within the project “Enabling Activities for HFC phase-down in Georgia“, implemented by UN Environment and MEPA jointly with financial support of Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol.The Project is executed by The Regional Environmental Centre for the Caucasus (REC Caucausus).
The multisectorial working group on Kigali amendments is leading preparation process of legal package through virtual meetings involving around 20 participants. The working group  consists of representatives of Parliament of Georgia as well as the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education and Science, Customs Department of Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance, International Organizations and of private sector.

During the meeting working group  reviewed:

•    Analysis of the Kigali Amendment ratification implications and benefits in Georgia , including comparative assessment of the impacts of an early, late and no ratification of the Kigali Amendment on Georgia;
•    Prepare recommendation report on the pros and cons of ratification of the Kigali Amendment, and the other documents, as required by the national legislative process;
•    Review of the existing ODS licensing/quota system, resulting in a proposal on how to introduce HFCs into the licensing system;
•    Development of legislative changes to include HFCs in the existing licensing/quota system of ODS’s (adjustments in appropriate sub-law and introduction of penalty for illegal import/export of HFCs in Code of Administrative Offenses).

The working group members also discussed impact of Kigali Amendment onthe Montreal Protocol with the achievements of following nationally adapted Sustainable Development Goals: take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts (SDG 13), end poverty in all its forms everywhere (SDG 1) and zero Hunger (SDG 2). The stakeholder forum is exemplary for a constructive dialogue on HFC policy options promoting climate-friendly and energy-efficient technologies and the importance of adopting safety standards.

Two main directions  have have been identified  as a discussion topick for the next meeting:
•    Capacity assessment of the in line state agenciesfor inforecement of Kigali amendments of The Montreal Protocol;
•    Need assessment for planning educational/training measures.

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