Sustainable and cli­ma­te-fri­end­ly pha­se-out of ODS (SPODS)

In 2017, representatives of the National Ozone Units from Cuba, Colombia, Costa Rica, Grenada, Mexico, Paraguay and Venezuela came together to take on a common challenge: Avoiding the use of highly warming HFCs in their RAC sectors when phasing out ODS.

Map with partner countries

Partner Countries

Their activities range from ODS/HFC destruction, refrigerant grade hydrocarbon production and trainings for technicians on the safe handling of natural refrigerants to technology pilots and the development of mitigation strategies.

Funding and objective

The project SPODS is co-funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). SPODS has been assisting a number of Latin American and Caribbean countries with their transformation processes in fulfilling their obligations under the Montreal Protocol related to the ODS phase-out and their current HFC mitigation at the same time, in anticipation of the Kigali obligations. The objective is to help define the appropriate actions on how to reduce both the consumption of ODS and HFCs, to bring down energy demand and related GHG emissions. GIZ Proklima is implementing this programme in cooperation with UNDP and UNIDO and the National Ozone Units in the respective countries.

Gallery SPODS

Project highlights

"Al­ways a two-way street" - In­ter­view with Phi­lip Owen

The European Union was one of the first movers regarding F-gas regulation and HCFC phase-out. As part of the SPODS project in Latin America and the Caribbean, we had the pleasure of interviewing Philip Owen of the European Commission.

How to suc­cess­ful­ly com­bi­ne ODS pha­se-out and ear­ly ac­tions on HFC?

During our virtual panel discussion in the framwork of the OEWG42, SPODS partners shared their experiences from various activities such as hydrocarbon refrigerant production, trainings for technicians on the safe handling of natural refrigerants and the development of mitigation strategies.

Tech­no­lo­gy Road­show 2021

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In April 2021 our virtual Technology Roadshow took place. Companies from the RAC sector filmed Green Cooling technolgies and presented them to an interested audience. 

SPODS Flip­book

The flipbook provides an overview of the activities carried out in each SPODS country.

La­test News

Suc­cess­ful si­de events at the 30th MOP in Ecua­dor

03.12.2018 , News :

During the 30th MOP in Quito at the beginning of November, Proklima hosted two successful side events. Around 50 participants attended the event "Coordinating finance for sustainable refrigeration and air conditioning", funded by the BMU. Approximately 40 attendees informed themselves about the transition to natural refrigerants in the Latin American and Caribbean region and exchanged their experiences. The latter was financed by the BMZ.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the RAC sector poses a particular challenge to the implementation of effective financial strategies due to its cross-sectoral nature and thus complex structure of involved actors. The side event highlighed the importance of financial flows of various actors to be coordinated and integrated in order to exploit the full reduction potential in the sector.

The second side event was jointly organized by the EU Commission and the GIZ as part of the SPODS project. Under the heading "Latin America and the Caribbean go NatRef! A fitness check of different actors required to implement the Kigali Amendment", experts and practitioners discussed the chances, challenges and obstacles with which countries are confronted in the transformation to green cooling technologies. All presentations of the events are available here (opens in a new window).