The 27th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (MOP 27) has adopted a Panel Group to manage the hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) after continuous negotiations and consultations since 2009. The meeting commenced on November 1, 2015 and will continue until November 5, 2015 at the Conrad Hotel in Dubai. The decision to adopt the Panel was agreed upon during the afternoon session of the first day of the meeting, after reaching full consensus by the open-ended working group meetings held on June 29 and 30, 2015 in Dubai.

According to H.E. Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, UAE Minister of Environment and Water, this success is the result of the UAE’s efforts in coordination and cooperation with all member states. In addition, it reflects the efforts of the Ozone Secretariat along with all concerned authorities. He also mentioned that the active participation by various countries in international efforts is a fundamental principle and a consistent policy to achieve the objectives of sustainable.

 H.E. Bin Fahad said that the composition of the Panel Group demonstrate the most important successes achieved by the Montreal Protocol and one of the most finest examples of international cooperation that has met the challenges of the global environment. He noted that the Group is a new step in contributing towards the feasibility study and methods of managing the HCFCs vehicles. It will also provide solutions to challenges, priorities and States specificities in order to reach an acceptable formula for all Member States in line with their visions for air conditioning and other industrial sectors.

 The Group held its first meeting in the UAE where it will examine the challenges, States specificities, national programs and the financial needs for the transition to alternatives, in consistency with the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). These challenges include energy efficiency, safety and funding requirements, exemptions, the safety of alternatives, the ways to address the existence of alternatives to HCFC’s, and the availability and transfer of technologies and knowledge between the countries. In addition, it will study the performance and challenges in warm climate areas, flow rates of new alternatives, the trade provisions with non-States parties, and environmental and social impacts and its consequences on human health and on the national policies.

 Soon after discovering that HCFC compounds have varying abilities to influence climate change, some advanced and developed countries proposed to amend the Protocol in 2009 to include HCFC vehicles especially those with high capacity to increase global warming. Many developing countries feared this trend for financial, technological and social reasons, which are considered one of the priorities of those States before starting the reduction or freezing which will be studied by the group.