Nominations of Customs and Enforcement Officers from Bulgaria, China, France, Georgia, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Lithuania, Malaysia, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Spain, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, as well as the European Commission and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), have been validated by the World Customs Organization, the Ozone Secretariat and UNEP Law Division’s OzonAction Programme. The awardees shall receive the prestigious Montreal Protocol medals and certificates in recognition of their strong commitment to address illegal or unwanted trade in ozone-depleting substances and fluorinated global warming substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol and its Kigali Amendment. The award aims to provide recognition and visibility to those who support the implementation of the Montreal Protocol.
In total, 64 seizures were reported during the period 2019-2020: 14,617 refrigerant cylinders / ISO containers with more than 380 metric tons of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and 215 pieces of equipment.
Informal Prior Informed Consent (iPIC) consultations between ECA countries and their trade partners prior to the issuance of the mandatory export and import licenses avoided 12 unwanted / illegal shipments of more than 167 metric tons of HCFCs and halons during the period 2019-2020.
In addition, Poland detected more than 31 metric tons of illegal HFC imports which had taken place in 2019-2020, and Spain detected illegal venting of more than 100 tons of refrigerants from recycling centers and illegal experts of more than 589 tons of hazardous waste.
OzonAction’s Montreal Protocol Network for Europe and Central Asia (ECA network) is currently producing the award medals and preparing a virtual award ceremony which is tentatively scheduled for March 2023.
More recently, WCO’s Operation Demeter VIII resulted in the seizure of 25 tons of substances controlled by the Montreal Protocol. Polish Customs seized 1,239 non-refillable cylinders containing more than 19 tons of refrigerant. For more details, please see: www.wcoomd.org/en/media/newsroom/2022/december/operation-demeter-viii.aspx .
Montreal Protocol Officers and focal points are encouraged to report seizures to the Ozone Secretariat (Email: mea-ozoneinfo@un.org), so that parties to the Montreal Protocol can be informed accordingly. For the reporting format, please refer to the Ozone Secretariat’s website: https://ozone.unep.org/countries/additional-reported-information/illegal-trade .
Contacts:
World Customs Organization: Ms. Anna Kobylecka, Email: anna.kobylecka@wcoomd.org
Ozone Secretariat: Mr. Gilbert Bankobeza: gilbert.bankobeza@un.org
UNEP Law Division OzonAction: Mr. Jim Curlin, Email: jim.curlin@un.org
UNEP Law Division OzonAction: Mr. Halvart Koeppen: Email: halvart.koppen@un.org
1st edition of the ECA Ozone Protection Award (2010)
UNEP’s OzonAction Programme launched the first edition of the ECA Ozone Protection Award for Customs & Enforcement Officers in 2010 as part of the activities of the Regional Ozone Network for Europe & Central Asia. The first award ceremony took place in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on 15 October 2010. Customs and Enforcement Officers from Armenia, China, Croatia, European Union, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation and Serbia received certificates and medals of honour for their efforts to prevent illegal trade in ODS and ODS equipment. In the period from January 2009 to June 2010, the award winners reported 4 successful seizures of 248 pieces of equipment and 35 refrigerant cylinders/containers containing 368 metric kg of ODS. Informal Prior Informed Consent (iPIC) consultations prior to the issuance of trade licenses avoided 9 unwanted/illegal shipments of 87metric tons of ODS. In addition, more than 805 metric tons of illegal trade in ODS has been detected, which had taken place in the past.
2nd edition of the ECA Ozone Protection Award (2012)
The second award ceremony took place in Istanbul, Turkey, on 11 October 2012 and awards of honor were presented to Customs and Enforcement Officers from China, European Union, Finland, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia FYR, Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey and Uzbekistan in recognition of their strong commitment to address illegal/unwanted trade in ODS. In the period from July 2010 to August 2012, the award winners reported 17 successful seizures of 72 pieces of equipment and 3016 refrigerant cylinders/containers containing more than 61 metric tons of ODS. Informal Prior Informed Consent (iPIC) consultations prior to the issuance of trade licenses avoided 16 unwanted/illegal shipments of more than 342 metric tons of ODS. In addition, more than 103 metric tons of illegal trade in ODS has been detected, which had taken place in the past.
3nd edition of the ECA Ozone Protection Award (2014)
The third award ceremony took place in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on 21 May 2014 and awards of honor were presented to Customs and Enforcement Officers from Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Cyprus, European Union, Georgia, Germany, India, Israel, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan in recognition of their strong commitment to address illegal/unwanted trade in ODS. In the period from September 2012 to April 2014, the award winners reported 133 successful seizures of 7370 pieces of equipment (appliances and compressors) and 9513 refrigerant cylinders /containers containing more than 467 metric tons of ozone-depleting chemicals and mixtures. Informal Prior Informed Consent (iPIC) consultations prior to the issuance of trade licenses avoided 67 unwanted/illegal shipments of more than 846 metric tons of ozone-depleting chemicals and mixtures. In addition, more than 175 metric tons of illegal trade in ODS has been detected, which had taken place in the past.
4th edition of the ECA Ozone Protection Award (2016)
The fourth award ceremony took place in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on 25 May 2016, and awards of honor were presented to Customs and Enforcement Officers from Bosnia & Herzegovina, China, Croatia, European Union, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan
In the period from May 2014 to April 2016, the award winners reported 258 successful seizures of 9,947 pieces of equipment and 10,201 refrigerant cylinders / cans containing more than 70 metric tons of ozone-depleting substances (ODS), mixtures, products & equipment. Informal Prior Informed Consent (iPIC) consultations between trade partners prior to the issuance of the mandatory export and import licenses avoided 16 unwanted / illegal shipments of more than 174 metric tons of ODS and mixtures. In addition, Ukraine estimates that approximately 50,000 AC split system illegally entered the country in past years, which were declared as R134a equipment but contained R22 as refrigerant.
