Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol

Climate Objective
Mitigation
Sectors and Themes
Energy
Industry and Infrastructure
Waste Management
Type of Support Provider
Multilateral
Type of Recipient
Public entity at the national level
Fund Size

As at 29 May 2023, the balance of the Fund stood at US $494,941,381 in cash.

Co-financing
No
Trustee or Administrator
Executive Committee of the Fund
Contact Information
Countries
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Cuba
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Fiji
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Ghana
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Jamaica
Jordan
Kenya
Kiribati
Kuwait
Kyrgyz Republic
Laos
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia
Moldova
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Niue
North Korea
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Qatar
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Samoa
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Korea
South Sudan
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Syria
Tanzania
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
Uruguay
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Region
East Asia and Pacific
Europe and Central Asia
Middle East and North Africa
South Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa

The Multilateral Fund was set up by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol to assist developing countries to comply with the terms of the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement that sets out a timetable for the phase-out of ODS in both developed and developing countries. The Multilateral Fund provides assistance to countries that are Parties to the Montreal Protocol and whose annual per capita consumption and production of CFCs and halons is less than 0.3 kg on the date of entry into force of the Montreal Protocol or any time thereafter until 1 January 1999. The developing countries that meet these criteria are referred to as Article 5 countries. Contributions to the Multilateral Fund are provided by the non-Article 5 countries.

The Kigali Amendment, which was adopted at the Twenty-eighth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (MOP) on 15 October 2016, added HFCs, non-ODS greenhouse gases that do not damage the ozone layer but have a high global-warming potential (GWP), to the list of substances controlled under the Protocol. The Kigali Amendment entered into force on 1 January 2019. As at 5 February 2020, it has been ratified by 93 Parties. The Montreal Protocol’s timetable for the phase-down of HFCs in both Article 5 and non-Article 5 countries is set out in Annex F of the Protocol.

A group of 17 non-Article 5 Parties has provided fast-start support for the implementation of the Kigali Amendment, that is additional to their regular contributions to the Fund. The additional contributions have been made available to Article 5 countries that had an HFC consumption baseline year between 2020 and 2022 and that had ratified or formally indicated their intent to ratify the Kigali Amendment and take on early HFC phase down obligations in order to support their enabling activities, such as capacity building and training in handling HFC alternatives, Article 4B licensing, reporting, and project preparation activities, taking into account, but not restricted to, relevant guidelines and decisions of the Executive Committee.

Support Provider

The contributions received by the Multilateral Fund from developed countries, or non-Article 5 countries, totalled over US$ 5.02 billion. The Fund has also received additional voluntary contributions amounting to US $25.5 million from a group of donor countries to finance fast-start activities for the implementation of the HFC phase-down.

Financial Instruments Offered
Grants
Monitoring and Reporting Procedures

Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of Multilateral Fund (MLF)-financed projects and activities are an essential part of the Secretariat’s work.

Following the Multilateral Fund’s permanent establishment in 1994, the Executive Committee approved, the following year, the preparation of evaluation guidelines. Henceforth, all project proposals included the milestones for the completion of various stages of the project.

The process of M&E not only ensures that the funds disbursed are actually being used to meet the project objectives but it is also a tool to assess the overall effectiveness of the Fund in phasing out ozone-depleting substances.

The Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Officer (SMEO) is responsible for M&E and reports directly to the Executive Committee to maintain independence from the Secretariat of the Multilateral Fund, where the SMEO office is located.

Monitoring of projects involves periodic reporting to gauge progress or lack thereof. Project completion reports (PCRs), using standardized formats for different types of projects, are mandatory for all projects benefitting from the MLF funding. The reports analyse the project implementation and formulate lessons learnt. They are collected from the implementing agencies and presented by the SMEO to the Executive Committee in a consolidated document at each of its meetings. The lessons learnt are collected in a database and are accessible through a search engine.

Evaluations assess the effectiveness and achievements of projects in specific sectors or on specific topics. An evaluation reviews the project cycle from preparation through implementation to completion, to analyse whether the objectives, in terms of phase-out of controlled substances, were achieved. It provides information on strengths and limitations of various types of projects; major causes of success or failure in reaching targets; formulates lessons learnt as well as recommendations for actions to improve the performance of the Fund.
The Committee approves the annual monitoring and evaluation work programme that includes proposed evaluation studies as well as a budget for their implementation and the different monitoring tasks to be undertaken. Evaluations are prepared by the SMEO with the support, when required, of independent consultants.

Organizational and Decision Making Structure

The Executive Committee is responsible for overseeing the operation of the Fund. The Committee comprises five members from Article 5 and five from non-Article 5 parties, selected each year by the Meeting of the Parties. The most recent list of Committee members may be found here.

Four Implementing Agencies implement MLF-financed activities in developing countries. These agencies are: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the World Bank. More information on each agency's role may be found here.

The Secretariat assists the Executive Committee in the discharge of its functions. Its activities include: development of the three-year plan and budget and a system for fund disbursement; management of the business planning cycle of the Multilateral Fund; monitoring the expenditures and activities of the implementing agencies; preparation of policy papers and other documents; review and assessment of investment projects, country programmes and the business plans and work programmes of the implementing agencies; liaison between the Committee, governments and implementing agencies; and servicing meetings of the Executive Committee. The Secretariat also includes the monitoring and evaluation Function which was established by the Executive Committee. The Fund Secretariat is not mandated to implement projects and programmes but to ensure that the objectives of the Multilateral Fund are adhered to. Information on the Fund Secretariat may be found here.

Eligibility Criteria

The "Policies, Procedures, Guidelines and Criteria of the Multilateral Fund" contain the policies, procedures, guidelines and criteria, as established by the Meetings of the Parties of the Montreal Protocol and elaborated by the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund in accordance with its terms of reference. They can be found here.

Eligible countries

Article 5 countries under the Montreal Protocol are eligible for funding.

Eligible Countries and Geographic Regions
East Asia and Pacific
Cook Islands
Niue
Cambodia
China
Fiji
Indonesia
Kiribati
North Korea
South Korea
Laos
Malaysia
Marshall Islands
Micronesia
Mongolia
Myanmar
Nauru
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Philippines
Samoa
Singapore
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Vietnam
Europe and Central Asia
Albania
Armenia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Georgia
Kyrgyz Republic
Macedonia
Moldova
Montenegro
Serbia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Latin America and Caribbean
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Grenada
Guatemala
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago
Uruguay
Venezuela
Middle East and North Africa
Iran
Algeria
Bahrain
Djibouti
Egypt
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Libya
Morocco
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Syria
Tunisia
United Arab Emirates
Yemen
South Asia
Brunei
Afghanistan
Bangladesh
Bhutan
India
Maldives
Nepal
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
Sub-Saharan Africa
Uganda
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Côte d'Ivoire
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Rwanda
Sao Tome and Principe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Sudan
Tanzania
Togo
Solomon Islands
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Information on how to
Understand steps to access

The "Policies, Procedures, Guidelines and Criteria of the Multilateral Fund" contain the policies, procedures, guidelines and criteria, as established by the Meetings of the Parties of the Montreal Protocol and elaborated by the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund in accordance with its terms of reference. They can be found here. Additional information can be found here.

Identify what activities eligible for readiness support

To receive MLF funding, Article 5 countries must identify and prioritize activities based on the Fund’s eligibility criteria for this funding envelope, and obtain the approval of the Executive Committee.

Find an overview of eligible activities here. Reference demonstration projects here.