The use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in the country is expected to start phasing down as from January 1, 2025.
It was the senior ozone officer from the Ozone unit in the Climate Change division within the Ministry of Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment, Inese Chang-Waye, who made the statement during a meeting with the press regarding a survey that the unit will be undertaking by end of this month. The exercise aims to identify all stakeholders who are still using HFC gases and the amount being used, among other related factors such as leakages, so as to start the phase down process.
The survey is in line with the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on the Phase-down of HFCs as from 2025, to reach 80 percent reduction by 2045 as part of the initiatives to reduce global warming and the depletion of the ozone layer.
HFCs are potent greenhouse gases (GHGs) commonly used in a wide variety of applications including refrigeration, air-conditioning (AC), building insulation, fire extinguishers and in aerosol products among others.
Although those coolant gases, such as R23, R32, R404A, R410A, R407A, R407C among others like 134a and R419A, commonly used in refrigeration and air conditioning respectively, do not deplete the ozone layer, they do contribute to global warming.
Speaking to the press at the Ozone Unit, House of Francis, Ile Du Port, Ms Chang-Waye said that as the country had on August 18, 2019, ratified the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on the phase-down of HFCs to 80 percent by 2045, this necessitated, among other obligations, changes or amendments to the law to control and reduce the amount of the various types of HFCs used in the country.
As part of the phase-down process which is to start as from January 1, 2025, the authorised gases will be imported through quotas.
Ms Chang-Waye added that while the unit has enough information with regard to natural refrigerants equipment used in households, they will not form part of the survey. It will be conducted only with stakeholders, mainly in the business sector such as tourism and fisheries, including government buildings, among other entities where there is lack of information on the amount of HFCs being used.
“As from January 1, 2025, stakeholders will be given quotas for the importation of HFCs through which the country is expected to reduce its consumption by 10 percent by end of 2029,” said Ms Chang-Waye, noting that the survey will take 120 days to complete.
She added that although the Ozone Unit knows the amount of HFCs entering the country, it does not have a record on the amount being used by the different stakeholders on a yearly basis and the survey will help to identify who the major ones are.
“After the survey we will conduct some follow up workshops to get inputs from stakeholders and from there we will see if we have to amend our laws in regards to controlling refrigerant gases that contribute to global warming. That will be in terms of either raising the levy to discourage the importation of certain HFCs considered more harmful, or reducing the levy on those seen as less harmful, among other measures,” Ms Chang-Waye explained.
She noted that while the Ozone Unit will be giving out advice on the type of HFCs to be used in any new building structures in the country, those in old buildings and who would find it difficult to switch to other lesser harmful coolants as alternatives due to the building structures will be allowed to continue to use the HFCs authorised, but at a lower rate.
Ms Chang-Waye said that HFCs with high global warming potential such as the R404A and R410A will be high on the control list for importation.
She added that while equipment using the R23 coolant have been banned in the country, the gas is still being used by the fishing industry. She noted that as the country issues permits for the importation of R23 to Seychelles-flagged fishing vessels only, non-Seychelles-flagged fishing vessels will have to go through their country of origin for a permit to import the gas.
Source: Seychelles Nation
