Koror, Palau – At their Twenty-sixth meeting, the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, including the Republic of Palau, requested that additional funding be provided to conduct inventories or surveys on alternatives to Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS). Hydroflourocarbons (HFCs) were developed as an alternative to Hydrofluorocarbons (HCFCs), an ozone depleting substance which will be phased out by 2030.
[restrict] HFCs includes various types of freons and refidgerants found in cars, air conditioners, freezers and refidgerators, etc. and are widely used in the Republic of Palau. While these HFCs have zero Ozone Depleting Potential (ODP), it has high Global Warming Potential (GWP), meaning that while HFCs do not weaken the Earth’s protective ozone layer, it does contribute to climate change.
This survey will be piloted by the Environmental Quality Protection Board in four states – Airai, Koror, Melekeok, and Peleliu. The objective of the survey is to determine a baseline for phasing out HFCs in the Republic, as mandated by the Montreal Protocol. The survey will focus on gathering data on the importation and use of HFC refrigerants and HFC based equipment from 2010 to 2015. The data collected will be adapted as a national baseline for an HFC Phase-out Management Plane for the Republic of Palau.
The survey will first be conducted in the State of Melekeok on Saturday, November 5.
For more information please contact Ms. Francesca Sungino, the EQPB Ozone Officer, at 488-1639/3600. [/restrict]