International. AHRI and U.N. Environment (United Nations Environment Programme) completed the first round of training sessions for the Refrigerant Duct License (RDL), a global refrigerant management initiative held June 24-27 in Kigali, Rwanda.
This pilot phase initiates a global programme to help Article 5 (developing) countries transition to alternative refrigerants according to the HFC phase-out schedule of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.
"AHRI is honored to partner with U.N. Environment on this important global effort to prepare for the upcoming refrigerant transition," said Stephen Yurek, president and CEO of AHRI. "It is especially appropriate that the first pilot program be held in Kigali, whose name is associated with the most recent amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which AHRI fully supports."
The RDL establishes minimum requirements for the correct and safe handling of refrigerants in air conditioning, heating and refrigeration equipment. The training of trainers session in Kigali is the first part of a comprehensive program in which a refrigerant management expert (lead trainer) trains a small number of local trainers on how to administer the RDL program in their country. Local trainers will then train an initial group of approximately 100 local technicians in proper and safe refrigerant handling.
In the coming months, five other countries will participate in the pilot program: Grenada, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. AHRI and U.N. Environment will evaluate the pilot stage and modify the final RDL training program based on feedback from the pilot program.
