Noticias

With the World Ozone Day 2025, a TV session on NTV Kenya highlighted Kenya's progress in protecting the ozone layer and advancing climate- and environmentally friendly cooling solutions. Through crucial partnerships with GIZ, Kenya has been at the forefront of spearheading sustainable cooling.  

On 19 August 2025, the training laboratory simulating a mini-supermarket with natural refrigerants CO₂ and R-290 was inaugurated at Firjan-SENAI Benfica, in Rio de Janeiro. The lab was established under the Brazilian HCFC Phase-out Management Plan (HPMP), coordinated by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MMA/NOU) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

Kenya’s efforts toward green cooling continues with the promotion of the use of highly energy efficient, climate and environmentally friendly refrigerants in room split air conditioning systems (R290). Under the GRACE Project, the first two Training of Trainers sessions took place in August, at The Nairobi National Polytechnic, bringing together around 30 RAC Trainers from various institutions in Kenya as well as participations of eight other African countries. 

In June, the first training laboratory in Brazil simulating a mini-supermarket with natural refrigerants CO₂ and R-290 was inaugurated at FAPRO-ETP Technical School, in Curitiba (PR), in the framework of the Brazilian HCFC Phase-out Management Programme (HPMP). The initiative marks an important step in the country’s transition towards sustainable refrigeration in the commercial sector.

Nairobi, June 18, 2025 — The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, in collaboration with the GIZ- ODS banks project convened a national validation workshop for Kenya’s Inventory of Ozone-Depleting Substances (ODS) and Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) Banks. The workshop took place at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Nairobi, with participation from key stakeholders across government, industry, academia, importers and civil society

Nairobi, June 17, 2025 — The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, in collaboration with the GIZ Proklima, hosted a joint workshop marking the official closure of the GIZ Green Cooling Initiative (GCI) III and the kick-off of the Green Room Air Conditioning (GRACE) Project start. The event took place at the Radisson Hotel, Nairobi, and brought together key stakeholders from government, the private sector, academia, industry and NGOs

Key Questions Answered by Daniel de Graaf, German Environment Agency (UBA). PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), commonly known as “forever chemicals,” are increasingly recognized as a significant threat to environmental and human health. Their application in refrigerants and the formation of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a highly durable breakdown product, have garnered rising concern. In this interview, Daniel de Graaf from the German Environment Agency (UBA) provides his expert insights on the risks, environmental impacts, and regulatory discussions surrounding PFAS. We posed eleven detailed questions to him, delving into the science behind PFAS, their prevalence in everyday items, and the measures being taken at the European level.