By Cynthia Alo
The Federal Government and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) have begun implementation of the 3rd stage of the global protocol to end use of substances that contribute to depletion of the ozone layer.
This follows the approval of financial and technical support from the multilateral fund of the Montreal Protocol, which paves the way for the implementation of the Stage III Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) Phase-out Management Plan (HPMP).
The aim of the HPMP Stage III project is to phase-out the use of HCFC in the refrigeration and air-conditioning manufacturing sector which will facilitate the achievement of 67.5 per cent HCFCs reduction target by 2025.
Speaking in Lagos over the weekend at the stakeholders workshop for the Stage III HPMP Project, the Minister of Environment, Mr. Mohammed Abdullahi, said that Nigeria had been part of global efforts towards the phase out of ozone depleting substances in all sectors of her economy and had demonstrated her commitment to the provisions of the Protocol by phasing out the use of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCS) and some other ozone depleting substances in 2010.
The minister who was represented by the ministry’s Zonal Director, Lagos and Southwest, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Agbenla, said: “What we have done was to replace ozone depleting substances which are causing global warming and health related problems commonly found in our air conditioners, refrigerators, and cooling boxes in the manufacturing sectors where such ozone depleting substances are used, and replacing it with other chemicals that have very low impact on our ozone because once they’re in the ozone layer, it will continue to deplete.”
The Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer is the landmark multilateral environmental agreement that regulates the production and consumption of nearly 100 man-made chemicals referred to as ozone ODS