Tunis/Tunisia — The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has officially approved the adoption by Tunisia of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol (Canada) on substances that deplete the ozone layer.
Thus, Tunisia can benefit from the financial and technical support of the Multilateral Fund of the Montreal Protocol and some other international bodies to gradually reduce hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), used in particular in the fields of refrigeration and air conditioning and harmful to the climate, according to the Coordinator of the National Ozone Unit at the National Agency for Environmental Protection (ANPE), Youssef Hammami.
In a statement granted to TAP, Hammami said that the support of the Multilateral Fund will allow Tunisia to develop a national strategy to identify the uses of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and help industrialists to reduce their use of these substances, by adopting other production lines, by strengthening human resources in their companies and by integrating other natural products.
The Coordinator of the National Ozone Unit at ANPE stressed that the adhesion of Tunisia to the international effort to fight against the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) is particularly important, especially since these materials contribute to 8% of the production of greenhouse gases.
According to experts, this rate will reach 25% by 2050, especially with the rise in temperatures and the increase in refrigeration and air conditioning needs.
Hammami noted that a national strategy based on sectoral studies has been developed, allowing the national ozone unit to train 112 technicians in the field of air conditioning and refrigeration in the public and private sectors, the largest consumer of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), or 80% of total use, in order to rationalise its consumption.
He said that a technical and economic model is being developed to set up a national system to recover and recycle these substances.
The official said that a unit in Borj Chakir has been created to collect and recycle waste from air conditioning and refrigeration appliances and that another unit should be created in Sfax.
The accession of Tunisia to the Kigali Amendment of the Montreal Protocol took place after the adoption by the parliament in March 2021 of law number 11 of the year 2021 relating to the accession to the Kigali Amendment of the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer, to progressively reduce its use.
The 197 signatories of the Montreal Protocol (Canada), including Tunisia, have ratified, during the Kigali-Rwanda meeting since 2016, the Kigali amendment, which places the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons under the control of the Montreal Protocol.
This protocol aims to protect the ozone layer by phasing out ozone-depleting substances, including hydrofluorocarbons, on a global basis. The Kigali amendment will allow for a reduction of about 85% in their use by 2050, with a view to lowering temperatures by about 0.5 degrees.
