Nigeria and the Montreal Protocol
Nigeria’s interest in the protection of the ozone layer dates back to 1978 when the United States Government informed the Nigerian Government that some industries in Nigeria were importing CFCs that had been banned in the US. At the ninth and tenth meetings of the Governing Council of UNEP in 1982, Nigeria and Sweden sponsored a Resolution on the Protection of the Ozone Layer. Nigeria participated actively in the negotiations leading to the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol as well as co-sponsored the resolution of Article 5 on the special needs of developing countries, by which the Multilateral Fund was established. Nigeria acceded to the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol on October 31, 1988, both of which entered into force on January 29, 1989. Since ratifying the Protocol, Nigeria has continued to play an active role within its framework.
Nigeria had put in place all the necessary structures required for the implementation of the protocol namely the setting up of the National Ozone Office, the National Advisory Ozone Committee (NAOCOM), and the preparation of a Country Programme of action for the phase out of ODS.
National Ozone Office (NOO)
The office was created during the era of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA). The Unit is in charge of Planning, Co-ordinating, Data Reporting, Financial Assistance Management, Supervising, and Monitoring of the Implementation of the Country’s ODS Phase-out Programme, and Liaison with International Agencies. It was established as part of Institutional Strengthening assistance from the Multilateral Fund (MLF) for ODS phase-out in the country. The NOO is currently under the department of PC&EH of the Federal Ministry of Environment.
National Advisory Ozone Committee (NAOCOM)
Also established during the FEPA era, the National Advisory Ozone Committee (NAOCOM) was to advise the Government on all matters related to the implementation of the Montreal Protocol in the Country. Membership of the Committee was drawn from ODS Importers, ODS-Using Industries, relevant Government Agencies, NGOs and Institutions of higher learning. NAOCOM had task force sub-committees for the refrigeration and air-conditioning, foam, aerosol, solvent, and halon sectors.
Country Programme
The Nigeria Country Programme for ODS phased out, which was the first step to obtaining assistance from the Multilateral Fund, was prepared and approved by the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund in 1998. The World Bank was the implementing agency for the project. Among the measures planned to be undertaken under the programme were:
• Constraining supply of ODS through a permitting and tracking system with declining import quotas.
• Curbing future demand for ODS by banning ODS-based equipment.
• Strengthening capacity to implement ODS phase-out.
• Developing the availability of non-ODS substitutes.
• Conducting a public awareness and enlightenment campaign.
• Waiving the import tariff relief on non-ODS equipment.
• Conducting public awareness and enlightenment campaigns.
The Country Programme was updated in 2002, leading to Nigeria’s CFC “Terminal Phase-Out Management Plan [TPMP]”
As a party operating under Article 5 of the Protocol, and having put in place all the necessary structures required for the implementation of the Protocol as discussed above, Nigeria, became entitled to financial and technical assistance from the Multilateral Fund for Institutional Strengthening and acquisition of Ozone-Friendly technologies. The considerations that follow in subsequent sections of this report relate to the country’s efforts in phasing out ODSs as a player in the global partnership to save the ozone layer and mother earth.
Nigeria’s Leadership Roles
Right from the onset, Nigeria is recognized as an African leader in its contribution to solving the problem of Ozone Layer. Nigeria has shown its commitment to actions in protecting the Ozone layer even in face of many uncertainties. The Country at the ninth and tenth meetings of the Governing Council of UNEP in 1982, co-sponsored, along with Sweden, a Resolution on the Protection of the Ozone Layer. It also co-sponsored the article that led to the setting up of the financial mechanism designed to enable compliance with the treaty’s obligations, which eventually led to the establishment of the Multilateral Fund (MLF) for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol (MP). The Country’s continued commitment was shown by its ratification of all the initial four amendments of the Protocol. Other leadership roles played by the Country include but not limited to the following:
· Nigeria Hosted the African English-Speaking Ozone Depleting Substances Officers network (ODSONET) meeting at Abuja in 1999.
· Nigeria became a member of the Executive Committee (ExCom) of the Multilateral Fund of the Montreal Protocol (MP) in 1999, represented by Dr. R. Adewoye, and sometimes by Dr. David B. Omotosho. This culminated in its becoming the Committee’s Chairman in 2002/2003.
· Nigeria, represented by Prof. O.A. Afolabi, was the chairman of the ExCom in 2002/2003, during which time the committee recorded an outstanding performance. It reached a record target of committing the entire budget for the 2000 – 2002 triennium. Nigeria’s leadership also facilitated the achievement of the first control measures relating to Methyl Bromide and Halon which became applicable to A5 Parties in 2002. It also midwifed the implementation of Decision 35/57 which provided a sound basis for “compliance enablement, funding requirement, removal of baseline ambiguity and compliance monitoring”.
· In 2002, the Multilateral Fund (MLF) was entering a new era with a more strategic approach and focus on compliance which necessitated changes in the work of the Executive Committee (ExCom) of the Multilateral Fund of the Montreal Protocol (MP). With the leadership of Nigeria, the committee was able to chart a focused course in strategic planning and policy direction that made for the achievement of MLF’s compliance-focused objective.
· Nigeria was elected a member of the Bureau of the Fifteen Meeting of the Parties to the MP in Nairobi, November, 2003. For the first Meeting of the Bureau held in in Montreal, March 2004, she was represented by Hon. Bala M. Mande, the then Minister of Environment, supported by Prof. O.A. Afolabi and Dr. D.B.Omotosho. For the second meeting held in Prague, Czech Republic, Nov. 2004, Nigeria was represented by Prof O.A. Afolabi supported by Abdul-Kazeem Bayero.
· Nigeria, represented by Prof O.A.Afolabi, was co-chair of the “open-ended informal consultation on Methyl Bromide” along with Finland, represented by Mr. Jukka Uosukainen, at the First Extra ordinary meeting of the Parties held in Montreal, Canada, March, 2004.
· Nigeria, represented by Prof O.A.Afolabi, co-chaired, along with Belgium (represented by Jozef Buys) and Finland (represented by Jukka Uosukainen) the contact group on “the 2006 – 2008 Replenishment of the Multilateral Fund” at the meeting held in Montreal, Canada in July,2005 and Dakar, Senegal, December,2005.
· Nigeria, represented by Mr. A.K. Bayero was member of the Implementation Committee between 2006 and 2008.
· Nigeria, represented by Dr. David B. Omotosho, was co-chair with Belgium, represented by Mr. Jozef Buys on the “TOR for the study of the Multilateral Fund Replenishment” at the 19th MOP held in Montreal, Canada, September, 2007.
· Nigeria hosted the 13th Joint Meeting of Ozone Depleting Substances Officers Network for Africa (ODSONET/AF), at Abuja, Aug. 2009.
· Nigeria, represented by Dr. David B. Omotosho, was co-chair with Netherlands, represented by Ms. Gudi Alkemade on “the Proposals on the Terms of Reference for an evaluation of the Financial Mechanism of the Montreal Protocol” at the 21st MOP held in Port Ghalib, Egypt, November, 2009.
· Nigeria, represented by Dr. David B. Omotosho, was co-chair, with Austria, represented by Mr. Paul Krajnik, of the contact group on “issues related to the financial mechanism under article 10 of the MP as well as the consideration of the draft decisions on the TOR for an evaluation of the financial mechanism” and for “a study on the 2012 – 2014 replenishment of the MLF” at the 22nd MOP, held in Bangkok, Thailand, November, 2010.
· Nigeria, through the current Hon. Minister of State for the Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jibril, moved the motion for naming the recently agreed HFC phase down agreement, the “Kigali Amendment”.
· Nigeria, represented by the D (PCEH) Mr. Charles Ikeah, National Ozone Officer Engr. Idris Abdullahi and National Expert Mr. A.K Bayero represented the African Group alongside Cameroun and South Africa at the Contact group on MLF Replenishment held in Bangkok, Thailand, July 2017.
· Also, Nigeria participated in the 29th MOP held at the Conference Centre, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 20 – 24 November, 2017. Interestingly, the
· Nigerian delegates participated at the Ozone Award Ceremony, where the Honorable Minister of Environment, Mr. Ibrahim Jibril was given a Prestigious Political Leadership Award as a result of
· Nigeria’s leadership role throughout the whole process of Implementation of the Montreal Protocol and lately during the negotiations and final adoption of the Kigali amendment in 2016.
· Nigeria participated at workshop on aggregated demand for super-efficient refrigeration & air-conditioning in West Africa, Morocco, March 2018.
· Nigeria participated at an African Cooling Conference on Energy Efficiency in Kigali, March 2018
· Nigeria in May 2018, attended Joint Network Meeting of African Ozone Officers and Twinning Workshop on Energy Efficient & Climate-friendly Refrigeration & Air-conditioning, Gaborone, Botswana.