12 Jun 2020 News

UNEP OzonAction/UNIDO/ASHRAE virtually convene the High Ambient temperature (HAT) Countries

With challenges to organize face-to-face events and the postponement of the 6th high ambient temperature (HAT) symposium, planned last March, UNEP OzonAction in cooperation with UNIDO and ASHRAE designed an international Webinar about Alternative Refrigerants for High-Ambient Temperature Countries” convening all HAT countries to share the knowledge acquired from all relevant HAT assessment and research projects with emphasis on the research projects conducted by UNEP/UNIDO in relation to the technical feasibility of alternatives and building risk assessment models to ensure safe deployment of alternatives. The Webinar is designed to be conducted twice, in two different languages, as follows:

-    Wed 10th June @ 2 pm CET (Paris) time – In English
-    Wed 17 June @ 2 pm CET (Paris) time – In French

Over last 15 years, the Montreal Protocol (MP) has witnessed major development first when accelerating the phase-down measures of HCFCs in 2207 through the Montreal Adjustment, then by encompassing the Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) within its mandate through the historical Kigali Amendment adopted in 2016 for the phase-down of HFCs. Such dynamics created exceptional challenge for HAT Article 5 countries in terms of finding the long term lower-GWP alternative refrigerants in particular for air-conditioning sectors.

High Ambient Temperature (HAT) countries’ concerns continue to be addressed by UNEP and UNIDO, in cooperation with international partners through different assessment projects, supported by the Multilateral Fund of the Montreal Protocol, which offered opportunities for regional industry and governments to examine the feasibility of lower-GWP alternative refrigerants for air-conditioning industry and markets. The recent version of those projects is, which is known as PRAHA-II, included a special component for building a risk assessment study for the use of lower-GWP refrigerants with focus on the non-design elements i.e. installation, servicing and related handling practices. The risk basement model will be a useful tool not only for HAT countries but for all Article 5 countries seeking building a robust assessment to assess tolerable vs. non- tolerable risks/hazards when deploying, installing, servicing and transporting flammable refrigerants at different facilities and spaces.

-    Download the Programme of the 10th June webinar  (English)
-    Download the Presentation of the 10th June webinar (English)

-    Register for the 17th June Webinar (French)
-    Download the Programme of the 17th June Webinar (French)

-    Download the PRAHA-I Report
-    Download the PRAHA-II Report
-    Download the EGYPRA Report