In December 2001, at the 35th Meeting of the Executive Committee for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol, US$35.8 million was approved to completely phase out the consumption of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) through World Bank-implemented projects in the Bahamas, Malaysia, Thailand, and Turkey.
The National CFC Phase-out Plans for Malaysia and Thailand are the first comprehensive phase-out strategies that include a long-term plan that will assist the two countries to meet their Montreal Protocol obligations. These plans were developed through active participation of all stakeholders in the respective countries, including private, government and non-governmental organizations. They consist of a combination of tailored investment, non-investment, policy and regulatory support measures, to support CFC phase-out in all CFC-consuming sectors. Their significance is that they will allow these two countries to channel much needed technical and financial assistance to a large number of small and medium-scale enterprises in order to eliminate their dependency on CFCs.
Additionally, the two countries will be able to strengthen the capacity of their local servicing networks in order to facilitate the smooth phase-out of a large number of CFC equipment (e.g., mobile air-conditioners, building chillers, refrigeration systems).
The Turkish Refrigeration Sector Plan, with a similar approach of combining policies, and investment and non-investment activities, was also approved by the Multilateral Fund Executive Committee at this meeting and will completely phase out three major CFCs (CFC-11, CFC-12 and CFC-115) four years ahead of the Montreal Protocol requirement.
In addition, the Bank, in partnership with UNEP, developed a Terminal CFC Phase out Management Plan for the Bahamas. This will enable the Bahamas to completely phase out its consumption of all CFCs by 2008—two years in advance of the Montreal Protocol deadline.
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