Cuba. At the beginning of March, an international workshop was held in Havana to implement the Kigali Amendment and reduce the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The head of the Ozone Group of the Center for Information Management and Energy Development, Nelson Espinosa, said that in recent years the increase in HFC is fueled by the growing demand in the market for refrigeration and air conditioning equipment.
Espinosa commented that in the refrigeration and air conditioning sector, it is necessary to save energy with more efficient devices, through the use of technologies developed in key areas for the country's economy such as tourism and public health.
In Cuba, the entry and use of equipment with certain energy efficiency values, such as refrigerators, was regulated with the purpose of reducing the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere directly by the equipment itself, or indirectly as a result of energy consumption.
Consultants from the United Nations Development Program present at the workshop agreed that this meeting is part of the training of the personnel in charge to ensure that when the acquisition of equipment is projected, aspects such as refrigerants and the efficiency of the device are taken into account, based on a rapid and effective reduction in HFC emissions.
On March 5 and 6, experts gathered in Cuba also discussed activities enabling the implementation of the Kigali Amendment and refrigerant gases, as well as alternative technologies with low global warming potential to eliminate HFCs.
Controlling the production and consumption of HFCs adds to the climate benefits already achieved by the Montreal Protocol through the phase-out of ozone-depleting substances, such as chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons.
Source: Prensa Latina.
