News

The ozone layer in the stratosphere absorbs a portion of the sun radiation; therefore, ozone layer depletion has been linked to many harmful effects, including skin cancer, cataracts, and damage to some crops and marine life.

National Ozone Officers have the great responsibility of managing the allocation and monitoring of quotas for substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol. This process can be complex with many importers, especially if the country imports a range of different hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and mixtures containing HCFCs. To address this challenge, OzonAction developed a new desktop application that helps Ozone Officers with the tasks of planning, calculating, monitoring and managing consumption quotas and licences.

The following three stories from Malawi are extracts from the booklet 'Women in the Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry."   MARY KAPETE I have always had a passion for fixing electrical equipment, and when I realized that the RAC course had no women technicians in our area I took on the challenge of being the only woman doing it.

Bangkok, 18 August 2020 –  Accurate and timely data are the bedrock of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The data collected and reported by individual Parties to this multilateral environmental agreement are used for many purposes ranging from assessing a country's compliance to determining its eligibility for financial support.

The following story by FOTOUH AL-RAGOM from Kuwait is an extract from the booklet 'Women in the Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry."  

The following two stories from Iran are extracts from the booklet 'Women in the Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry."

As part of the 2020 celebrations for the World Refrigeration Day (WRD); the WRD Secretariat, ASHRAE, European Partnership for Energy and Environment (EPEE), the Global Food Cold Chain Council (GFCCC), the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) and UNEP OzonAction are jointly raising the awareness of the importanc

27 May 2020, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia – The National Ozone Authority (NOA) of Mongolia's Ministry of Environment and Tourism is continuing work without let-up amid the COVID-19 pandemic by building the capacity of the country's refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) technicians for servicing room air conditioners that use alternative gases, in line with the objectives of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

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

The following four stories from Indonesia are extracts from the booklet 'Women in the Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry."

As part of their cooperation to support the needs of different stakeholders in developing countries to fulfil their commitments under the Montreal Protocol, the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) and UNEP OzonAction today released the French and Spanish versions of their popular Technology Briefs on the Cold Chain.

In 2019, ASHRAE and UNEP OzonAction introduced for the first time an international award program titled “Lower-GWP Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Innovation Award” The award program intends to promote innovative design, research and practice by recognizing people who have developed or implemented innovative technological concepts applied in developing countries to minimize global warming potential (GWP) through refrigeration and air-conditioning management.

“Quickly, efficiently and accurately convert between values in metric tonnes, ODP tonnes and CO2-equivalent tonnes”

The latest version of the factsheet providing up to date information on refrigerant designations and safety classifications is now available (April 2020 update).

The UNEP OzonAction WhatGas? application has been updated and improved.

The following two stories from Honduras and India are extracts from the booklet 'Women in the Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry."

Paris, 7 April 2020 — World Refrigeration Day (WRD) is an international commemorative day that raises awareness about the refrigeration and air-conditioning industry and its contribution to modern life, as well as its connection to key societal objectives including mitigating climate change, protecting the ozone layer, and achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Inaugurated in 2019, the initiative is well recognized and supported by leading industry associations and organizations around the globe, as well as governments and non-governmental organisations.

Dear National Ozone Officers, On behalf of UN Environment (UNEP) OzonAction, I would like to express our deep appreciation to your country for its continued high-level commitment to implement the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, including during very challenging times such as what the world is now facing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The following stories from France, The Gambia, Georgia and Germany are extracts from the booklet 'Women in the Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry."

The following stories from Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Fiji are extracts from the booklet 'Women in the Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry."

This meeting has been organized by the Regional Montreal Protocol Network for Europe and Central Asia (ECA network) of UNEP Law Division's OzonAction Programme in cooperation with Ministry of Environmental Protection of Serbia, the national HVAC&R Association SMEITS / KGH and UNDP Serbia.

The following three stories from Colombia are extracts from the booklet 'Women in the Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry."

Thimphu, December 2019  ̶   Under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the technicians who work in refrigeration and air conditioning play a major role because they handle the refrigerant gases that are controlled under that international environmental agreement.

6 January 2020, Muscat  ̶  Refrigeration and air conditioning is at the heart of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.