Kuwait to lead 198 countries in Ozone Protection activities
Building on over 35 years of dedicated environmental efforts and international trust, Kuwait has assumed the presidency of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer. For the next three years, Kuwait will lead 198 member states in advancing best practices for ozone layer protection.
Kuwait participated and presided over the 13th Conference of the Parties to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (COP13), which was held along with the 36th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (MOP36), which was held from 28 October to 1 November in Bangkok, Thailand.
During the conference, the parties nominated Yacoub Al-Matouk, Acting Head of the Air Quality Monitoring Department and National Ozone Officer, representing Kuwait’s Environment Public Authority, to assume the role of President of the Thirteenth Conference.
Kuwait assumes this presidency at a critical time, as the Convention and the Montreal Protocol enter a transitional phase involving the global elimination of 67.5 percent of ozone-depleting substances, set to take effect in 2025. Countries worldwide are now beginning to reduce hydro–fluorocarbons (HFCs), which contribute to global warming and require extensive international cooperation to achieve compliance among all 198 parties to the Montreal Protocol.
For over three decades, Kuwait has supported, and allied with friendly nations to help them achieve the strategic goals in line with the international policies of the Protocol. By holding a primary seat on the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund for 2023 and 2024, Kuwait has also advanced numerous projects focused on the gradual reduction of HFCs and the elimination of HCF depleting the ozone layer.
Expressing his gratitude for the international trust placed in him through this high-level position, Al-Matouk said that this was a testament to the global community’s confidence in Kuwait’s commitment to the goals of the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol for the Protection of the Ozone Layer.
