By refrigerant

The Commonwealth of The Bahamas has become the latest country to ratify the Kigali Amendment to phase down HFC refrigerants.

Border police from the Vicovu de Sus have intercepted more illegal refrigerant being smuggled across the border from Ukraine.

Leading UK experts have accused the EU of being “blinkered” by ambition in their F-gas revision proposals, pushing for the UK to take a more pragmatic approach.

A leading European refrigeration research council claims that the safe, efficient and trouble-free operation of RACHP systems is not possible without the use of PFAS-containing materials.

Johnson Controls has announced the launch of its York YVAM air-cooled magnetic bearing centrifugal chiller with low GWP refrigerant R1234ze for hyperscale and colocation data centre cooling.

The UNEP OzonAction Compliance Assistance Programme (CAP), West Asia Regional Office, jointly organized with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), a two-day stakeholders’ consultation workshop to discuss the implementation of the preparatory project for Stage II of the HCFC Phase-Out Management Plan (HPMP) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), as approved by the Executive Committee (ExCom) at its 86th Meeting.

Heat pumps using R290 (propane) are to be installed at all new UK Aldi supermarkets in a new deal with Vaillant.

Customs officers in Romania continue to intercept illegal refrigerant being smuggled into the country from Ukraine.

The Spanish refrigeration association, AEFYT, has urged greater efforts in refrigerant leak detection and containment as the industry faces “an unprecedented challenge” from the F-gas revision.

Italian discount supermarket chain MD Discount has selected the lower GWP blend refrigerant R455A for its store in San Giovanni in Persiceto.

New analysis has found increasing emissions of several ozone-depleting chemicals despite their production being banned for most uses under the Montreal Protocol—and a loophole in the rules is likely responsible.

Niger submitted the first ever Kigali Implementation Plan (KIP) that will help the country comply with the requirements under the Kigali Amendment, which is a pioneering and a forward-looking step. A discussion with the National Ozone Officer of Niger, Ali Seydou Moussa and an International Technical Expert, Bassam Elassaad, on the factors leading to the plan in the interview below.

As the EU works hard to reduce CO₂ emissions, it is also making efforts to regulate other greenhouse gases heating up planet Earth, such as methane, fluorinated gases – also known as F-gases – and ozone-depleting substances. Although they are present in smaller volumes than CO₂ in the atmosphere, they can have a significant warming effect.

The Republic of Moldova will gradually reduce, starting 1 January 2024, the import and use of fluorinated greenhouse gases and will replace them with natural cooling agents, according to the provisions of the new law on fluorinated greenhouse gases, voted in the final reading by the Parliament. The law was developed with the support of the EU4Climate project, financed by the European Union and implemented by UNDP Moldova and is to enter into force six months after its publication. Until now, the import and use of F-gases was not regulated in Moldova.

The EU Council of Ministers has taken a more relaxed approach to the F-gas regulations, easing the quota step down and pushing back some of the proposed product bans.

Leading European industry groups have expressed continuing concerns at the F-gas proposals despite the more industry-friendly stance adopted by the Council of Ministers.

Frascold and Arneg combine their technical skills and experience to create a propane chiller, designed to keep products fresh and for conditioning characterised by normal temperatures. A solution that arose from the desire to expand the use of natural gases by offering a valid and simple alternative to transcritical CO₂ systems.

UNEP’s OzonAction Asia-Pacific Compliance Assistance Programme (CAP) team in collaboration with the Government of Vietnam organized a Network Meeting of Southeast Asia (SEA) National Ozone Officers (NOOs) in Halong City from 13-15 March 2023 to facilitate the Network countries to share experiences/good practices in various areas under the Montreal Protocol. The meeting was also a platform to facilitate regional cooperation between SEA NOOs and Customs authorities to further strengthen enforcement of licensing system through integrated approaches at the Twinning National Ozone Officers – Customs Workshop on ODS/HFC Trade Control and Reporting held from 16–17 March 2023.

Cambodia’s National Cooling Action Plan was developed with support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), under the framework the Cool Coalition – a global effort led by UNEP to drive action on sustainable cooling.

The YORK YVFA Free-Cooling, Variable-Speed Screw Chiller is the first free-cooling screw chiller in the U.S. to use R-1234ze, a refrigerant with ultra-low global warming potential.