VIENNA, 2 December 2013 – National Ozone Officers from sub-Saharan African countries, representatives of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), international experts and UNIDO staff convened in Vienna from 26 to 29 November to discuss issues relating to the phase-out of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), under the terms of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

UNIDO and UNEP together assist 25 countries in the sub-Saharan African region with the implementation of their HCFC Phase-out Management Plans (HPMP), with financial help from the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol.

The meeting, jointly organized by the two implementing agencies, represented an important step towards developing a better understanding of country-specific needs and identifying challenges at the regional level.

“It is the role of UNIDO to assist Member States in phasing out ozone-depleting substances such as HCFCs, and to promote climate-friendly technologies as part of the solution to protect the global environment. This can only be achieved with the proactive involvement of national governments and with a strong partnership between UNIDO and UNEP,” said Sidi Menad Si Ahmed, Director of UNIDO’s Montreal Protocol Branch.

“This has been an excellent opportunity for us to showcase our strategic partnership, past, present and future, a partnership that we should certainly keep strengthening in the future, not only to show that we speak with one voice, but also that we are complementary and work in synergy,” said  Shamila Nair-Bedouelle, Head of UNEP’s OzonAction Branch.

For more information please contact:

Sidi Menad Si Ahmed
Branch Director   
email

To read more about UNIDO’s activities under the Montreal Protocol, please see:

http://www.unido.org/news/press/the-challenge.html 

To read more about UNEP's activities under the Montreal Protocol, please see: http://www.unep.org/ozonaction/