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Re­cap OEW­G43: Pro­kli­ma hosted two suc­cess­ful vir­tu­al si­de events

21.07.2021 , News :

How are the European Union and BMZ supporting countries in ODS phase-out and early actions on HFCs? And how big is the potential of the global window type AC market for natural refrigerants? 

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The two virtual side events at this year’s Open-ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (OEWG) organized by GIZ Proklima on behalf of BMZ, BMU and EU were joined by more than 120 participants. They gained insights in two Green Cooling topics.

Si­de event on Green Coo­ling pro­jects in La­tin Ame­ri­ca, the Ca­rib­be­an and Af­ri­ca

It's not enough, if early actions on HFCs and an ODS phase-out are done in the European Union. “We wanted others to join us”, said Arno Kaschl (European Union). So the idea was born to support other countries on their path to the Kigali Amendment. The first project was SPODS in Latin American and the Caribbean. While SPODS ended in June 2021 after four years, the ROCA project supporting francophone African countries just started. In this session, we looked at both projects, lessons learned within SPODS and plans for ROCA.

“A key driver for success were the partners of the SPODS project”, said Mónica Silva (GIZ Proklima) when she outlined the achievements. Only through the great commitment from the countries was it possible to set an example for neighbouring countries in terms of climate action. Stakeholders, NOUs and representatives of UNIDO and UNDP who have been involved in the activities in the countries have shared their experiences. 

For the ROCA project the opportunities will lie ahead in the coming years. Nils Hansen (GIZ Proklima) gave an overview on the goals and objectives. Samuel Paré from the NOU Burkina Faso explained how ROCA came about: “Our intention was to go straight forward. We didn’t want to lose time anymore.” According to Samuel Paré, the goal is to comply with the Kigali Amendment obligation as fast as possible. He emphasized that Burkina Faso wants to compete with Grenada to become the first HFC-free country in the world. Either way: The ROCA transformation process just started.

Did you miss our event on Green Coo­ling pro­jects in La­tin Ame­ri­ca, the Ca­rib­be­an and Af­ri­ca?

You can find the recording of the event here

Si­de event on the Green Coo­ling po­ten­ti­al of win­dow ty­pe ACs

“Left out in the cold” - The title of the side event already revealed that window type ACs are often forgotten in the larger discourse about future cooling technologies. This is especially true when it comes to its refrigerant related climate mitigation potential, as Philipp Munzinger (GIZ Proklima) emphasized.

Window type AC systems have a prominent market share in key markets, like the US, Asia and Middle East. Most of those systems still operate on highly climate damaging HCFCs and HFCs. The side event aimed to shed light on the future of window type ACs “and their very obvious technical potential to reduce emissions”, as Philipp Munzinger said.

Irene Papst (HEAT) talked about the transition to R290 and GHG mitigation pathways. 270 Mt CO2eq could be saved globally until 2050 by a switch to the climate- and ozone-friendly refrigerant R290, as she underlined by a study. Dr. Bo Shen, (Building Technologies Research and Integration Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory) introduced the audience to the development of a highly efficient window type AC using propane under limited charge. Additionally, Isagani Soriano (Department of Energy Philippines) gave insights on the preliminary results of a study which examined the switch from R22 to R290 in the same AC units. To conclude the session, Daniel Colbourne (Re-phridge/HEAT) gave an overview of the safety aspects of window type AC units. “We hope with this event we triggered the discussion and gained the attention of the industry”, ended Philipp Munzinger the side event.

Did you miss our event on the Green Coo­ling po­ten­ti­al of the glo­bal win­dow ty­pe air con­di­tio­ner mar­ket?

You can find the recording of the event here

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