Bangkok, Thailand, 4 May 2021 – Most countries in the Asia and Pacific region are in Article 5 Group 1, as per the Kigali Amendment, and need to freeze hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) consumption at baseline level starting from 2024. Moreover, the HFC phase-down will overlap with the ongoing HCFC (hydrochlorofluorocarbon) phase-out for most Article 5 countries. To assist the South Asia (SA) and Southeast Asia (SEA) Networks of National Ozone Officers to review policy options for an HFC phase-down and discuss which policies are implementable and suitable for individual countries, a virtual meeting was convened on 28 April 2021 by the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) OzonAction Compliance Assistance Programme (CAP), Asia and the Pacific Office.
A total of 70 participants (32 female and 38 male) from 21 SA-SEA countries took part in the meeting. The participants discussed HFC policies that can be either integrated into or strengthened in their existing national policy or additionally introduced, such as strengthening the monitoring, reporting, verification and enforcement (MRVE) of the licensing system, controlling the growth of HFCs, preventing emission, building the capacity of various stakeholders, raising public awareness and synergizing with the national cooling action plan, Sustainable Development Goals, energy efficiency programmes, occupational safety standards and waste management etc. Countries were urged to consider the following points when developing HFC phase-down policies: (i) inter-ministry cooperation to supplement the work that is beyond the mandate of National Ozone Units (NOUs); (ii) balance of the concurrent obligations of HCFC phaseout and HFC freeze; and (iii) the trends of digital transformation for the management of activities. UNEP’s publication, “Legislative and Policy options to control Hydrofluorocarbons”, was used as a reference to facilitate the discussion of the pros and cons of different policy options in the country context.
Break-out groups were held following the plenary session to discuss the possibility and applicability of various HFC policies. The participants shared views on HFC policy options from their national perspective based on domestic consultation under the Enabling Activities projects for HFC phase-down and experience in the management of the HCFC phaseout.
Ms. Justina Belo of Timor Leste's NOU said that “We are strengthening our capacity of monitoring, reporting, verification and enforcement (MRVE) as one of our main implementing policies. Soon, the HFC licensing system will be integrated into the National Single Window System in Timor Leste to further strengthen the data monitoring and data reconciliation which will be supplemented with mandatory reporting by importers. The Joint Domestic Refrigerant Market Inspection program that has been established for HCFCs can be further extended to HFCs. Today, we have learned policy options from presentations and discussions in the meeting and we are glad to learn that Timor Leste is on the right track for HFC phase-down policy for MRVE system.”
Mr. Sugath Dharmakeerthi, National Ozone Officer of Sri Lanka stated that “Sri Lanka agrees that the certification system for Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (RAC) and Mobile Air Conditioning (MAC) technicians are an important policy, and the country is on track to have the RAC and MAC certification system that incorporates Good Servicing Practices in order to support a safe and high-quality RAC-MAC servicing sector. Based on our experience of integration of the good servicing practices in the certification system, we found that it is a long process and requires a lot of clear discussion with relevant stakeholders. However, despite the challenges, Sri Lanka maintains its commitment to making it happen.”
This thematic meeting is the second meeting in a series of thematic workshops that UNEP CAP plans to conduct in the region following a survey of Network members conducted in November 2020, and in conjunction with UNEP’s approved 2021 Work Plan.
- First Thematic meeting - South Asia and Southeast Asia Networks and Developed Countries Share Experiences about Integration of HFC Phase-down and HCFC Phase-out Processes
For more information
Mr. Shaofeng Hu
Senior Montreal Protocol Regional Coordinator
UNEP, Compliance Assistance Programme (CAP)
Asia and Pacific Office
Email: hus[@]un.org
