MOP37 Highlights

The IIR co-hosted a side event, released three technology briefs, supported partner events and engaged with the parties to strengthen cooperation for sustainable, low-emission, and climate-resilient refrigeration. 

 

The IIR also joined the parties for a ceremony on the 40th anniversary of the Vienna Convention. A documentary was released to commemorate the journey to the day that countries came together, guided by science, to address a global threat to human health and the environment by protecting the ozone layer. 

 

For this edition, MOP37, some of the main topics on the negotiation table were:   

• The 2027–2029 replenishment of the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol
• Ensuring the viability of Montreal Protocol operations
• HFC-23 emissions, discrepancies between atmospheric monitoring and reporting of emissions, and enhancing regional atmospheric monitoring of controlled substances
• Addressing the accumulation of inventories of refrigerant gases at the end of their life cycles
• Regional centres of excellence to support the implementation of the Kigali Amendment 

 

The parties adopted 20 decisions, including further analyses on the HFC-23 emission gap, a synthesis of national reports on activities and lessons learned to evaluate support for regional centres of excellence for sustainable cooling and energy efficiency testing, and a study on quantities of used and unwanted controlled substances, including national inventories and the identification of reclamation and destruction facilities that can accept refrigerants from other countries. 

 

On Monday 3 November, the IIR and UN Environment Programme OzonAction hosted a side event on “Cold Chain Technologies in Hot Countries: From Storage to Transport”. The event was also the occasion to launch three new technology briefs Refrigeration on Fishing Vessels, Walk-in Cold Rooms in Article 5 Countries, Commercial, Professional, and Domestic Refrigeration aimed at strengthening cold chain systems worldwide. IIR’s D2 commission president Silvia Minetto (Senior Researcher, Italian National Research Council) and D1 commission member Alan Foster (Senior Researcher, London South Bank University) presented the contents of the transport and cold storage briefs. The discussion ended with a very engaging Q&A session among the +80 participants. A series of follow-up webinars will be run in November and early December.

 

 

On Friday 14, our Director General Dr. Yosr Allouche delivered her statement to the Montreal Protocol Parties. She congratulated all the parties involved for the effective action, building on science, of the past 40 years that has led to the great success of the Protocol. Dr. Allouche encouraged all governments to strengthen national inter-institutional coordination on sustainable refrigeration efforts across all applications and bring together relevant stakeholders. She closed by reminding parties that the IIR stands in support of governments and organisations to strengthen cooperation on refrigeration and positively impact national food systems, public health, industrial development, and the environment. The official statement can be consulted here.  

 

IIR’s delegation to MOP37:  

Yosr Allouche, Ph.D - Director General of the International Institute of Refrigeration 

Souhir Al-Hammami - Director of the Scientific and Technical Information Department at the International Institute of Refrigeration 

Marco Durán Herrera - Head of Policy and Global Partnerships at the International Institute of Refrigeration 

Silvia Minetto - Senior Researcher (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche) & President of IIR D2 (Refrigerated transport) Commission  

Alan Foster - Associate Professor (London South Bank University) & Member of IIR D1 (Refrigerated storage) Commission 

Bas Hetterscheid - Manager Partnerships (Wageningen University & Research)