The Philippines begins 3rd stage to phase out ODS
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environment Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) has started the third stage of the campaign against ozone depleting substances (ODS) in the country.
This, as the government started its action plan to phase out hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HFCs).
DENR-EMB Director William Cuñado said HFCs are commonly used as alternatives to ODS.
“While HFCs are not ozone depleting substances themselves, they are greenhouse gases which can have high or very high global warming potentials, ranging from about 12 to 14,800,” Cuñado said.
“The phase out of HFCs under the Montreal Protocol started its negotiation in 2009, and the successful Kigali Amendment continues the historic legacy of the Montreal Protocol,” he said.
Cuñado added that the Kigali Amendment aims to reduce the emissions of powerful greenhouse gases that could prevent up to 0.5 degrees Celsius of global warming by the end of this century while continuing to protect the ozone layer.
He said the phase out of HFCs will provide significant environmental benefits and will stimulate a lot of innovation and design improvements.
Cuñado said the country targets to reduce HFC consumption by 10 percent, 30 percent, 50 percent and 80 percent by 2030, 2035, 2040 and 2045, respectively.
He said the Kigali Amendment took effect on Jan. 1, 2019 as former president Rodrigo Duterte signed the ratification document on June 23, 2022.
Cuñado said the EMB continues to conduct capacity building and training for handling ODS alternatives in the servicing, manufacturing and production sectors.
“The EMB imposed licensing and quota system to the importers-exporters of ODS for monitoring purposes and reduction of consumption of ODS geared toward the country’s compliance to its obligations to the Montreal Protocol,” he said.
Cuñado said the DENR established the Philippine Ozone Desk to monitor the country’s compliance under the Montreal Protocol.
He added this led to the adoption of the Kigali Amendment by the parties to the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer on its 28th Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda on Oct. 15, 2016, where an agreement was reached to phase out the production and consumption of HFCs.