Conference of the Parties to the Ozone Convention of the United Nations Environment Program "UNEP" approved the hosting by the United Arab Emirates of the 27th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in the next year. The approval came during the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the 26th meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, held from 17 to 21 November in Paris, France. The United Arab Emirates participated in the meeting by a delegation headed by HE Dr. Rashid Ahmed bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water, along with the participation of 196 countries represented by more than 50 ministers and international character representing the environment, employment, economy and industry sectors as well as the heads of a number of international organizations, in addition to the participation of 500 high level personalities, representing the United Nations organizations, universities, research centers, regional organizations and the private sector.
The UAE Minister of Environment and Water, in a speech during the meeting said that the hosting by the United Arab Emirates of the 27th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Dubai translates the tireless efforts of the UAE and its commitment to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and its support for regional and international efforts. HE added that the UAE's firm commitment to achieve sustainable development is not limited to the local level, but also to the global level.
HE added that since the UAE’s accession to the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol in 1989, the UAE developed a set of measures to meet its obligations pursuant to the Convention and the Protocol as amended and resolutions of the Conferences of the signatory countries. These actions focused on the development of legislations and controls related to the regulation of substances that deplete the Ozone Layer and the regulatory procedures on the import and export of such materials. The UAE through its own efforts was able to fulfill its obligations in achieving the total ban of CFC’s (Chlorofluorocarbons) and Halons in 2010.
The Minister of Environment and Water explained that the UAE has developed a national program based on its successful experience to get rid of CFCs and Halons. Under this program it has frozen the consumption of HCFC compounds beginning of 2013, in preparation for the gradual reduction of these compounds by 2015 down to the final ban in 2040 and ordered all agencies that deal with equipment and compounds that deplete the ozone layer of the need to obtain official permission for each import transaction of any of the controlled substances.
At the conclusion of his speech, HE bin Fahad stressed that international cooperation is a key pillar in the policy of the Government of the United Arab Emirates, where the UAE Vision 2021 confirmed the UAE's keenness to strengthen this cooperation, and enhance its participation in the international efforts to address cross-border environmental problems.
The efforts made by the UAE in contributing to the global preservation of the ozone layer, were crowned by hosting the 27th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Dubai next year, thanks to the successes achieved by the UAE’s own efforts, which were praised and appreciated by the General Secretariat of the Convention. The host country for conferences of the signatory countries shall actively contribute to developing the work mechanism of the convention and protocol, and to put plans and programs to achieve the objectives of the protocol and the convention. The resolutions of the convention are binding on all of the 197 signatory countries, including the United Arab Emirates.
The Convention became one of the most successful international conventions for the protection of the environment and considered as a multilateral international political pledge aimed at protecting the ozone layer. The convention was approved at the first Conference of Vienna in 1985. The convention aims to protect the ozone layer from depletion and reduce the effects of such depletion on human health and ecosystems where the ozone layer prevents leakage of ultra-violet rays, which are harmful to humans, and other organisms.
Vienna Convention organized the usage of substances that deplete the ozone layer and used in refrigeration, air conditioning, sponge and aerosols industry and fire extinguishers. Thereafter, a special protocol “Montreal Protocol” to this agreement was adopted to regulate the use of materials that deplete the ozone layer and entered into effect in 1989. The United Arab Emirates was among the first countries to ratify the Convention and the Protocol in 1989 and its four amendments thereafter.
The UAE by hosting this meeting is keen to increase the international and local community awareness on the role of the UAE and its initiatives undertaken towards protection of the ozone layer and to strengthen its role in the international arena as one of the first Arab countries that took more effective steps to reduce the phenomenon of climate change and develop and implement innovative solutions to protect the environment and ensure sustainability, underscored by the UAE Vision 2021.
It is worth mentioning that the UAE has begun to develop a program to get rid of HCFC compounds used in the refrigeration and sponge industry since 2012, and issued many decisions related to the implementation of the provisions of the Montreal Protocol, the most recent of which was the Council of Ministers Decision No. 26 of 2014 on the special national system to reduce consumption of the substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (HCFCs).
UAE delegation participating in the meeting included HE Abdul Raheem Al Hammadi, Assistant Undersecretary for Environmental Affairs sector in the Ministry of Environment and Water, Dr. Sa’ad Al Nimeiri, Adviser to the Minister of Environment and Water and Mrs. Ahlam Al Fil, director of Government Communication Department and a number of the Ministry of Environment and Water staff of specialists in the field.