HCFC phase-out and HFC phase-down discussed by African Ozone Officers
In 1991, two years after the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer entered into force, United Nation Environment OzonAction – a branch of the United Nations Environment Program – created National Ozone Units (NOUs) in 147 developing countries (To consult the list of the 147 developing countries, please see the Article 5 Parties). The aim was to help these countries to manage their national programmes to comply with the Montreal Protocol, which requires a phase-out for HCFCs by 2040, thanks to a special schedule. NOUs are led by National Ozone Officers.
Between March 20 and March 24, 2017, fifty African National Ozone Officers gathered in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, to check in the different challenges related to the phase-out of HCFCs. The recent adoption of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal protocol, which requires an 85% HFC phase-down by 2045 for most of developing countries, (Except: Bahrain, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.) was also one of the key subjects of the meeting. The participants were urged to ratify it by the end of 2017.
Some initiatives were presented, such as the African Refrigerator Market Transformation Programme, conducted by the Energy Commission of Ghana, where 10,000 used and energy-inefficient domestic refrigerators were replaced by new and more efficient ones (For further information about this initiative, please consult the Business & Financial Times article.).