Second phase of management plan to reduce ozone depletion launched

AMMAN — The Ministry of Environment on Tuesday launched the second phase of a management plan for the phase out of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), which cause ozone depletion.

 The second stage covers the period 2018-2022, according to officials, who said that it aims at reducing HCFCs consumption by 50 per cent of the baseline determined by a study.

The phase out of HCFCs commenced in 2013 with the aim of phasing out HCFS in Jordan by 2030, head of the ministry’s climate change department Dina Kisbi said.

“The first phase covered the air conditioning sector’s shift from the use of R22 gas to 410a. The second phase, with an additional financing of some $3,074,691 million, is to reduce the use of HCFCs represented as 141b and pre-blended polyol in the foam sector,” Kisbi told The Jordan Times on Tuesday.

She noted that the implementing agencies will be UNIDO, which will handle the spray foam sector along with the servicing sector, and the World Bank which will handle the panels, domestic and commercial refrigeration.

“The additional financing to the Jordan Ozone Depleting Substances (HCFC Phase-Out Project) has been provided by the Multilateral Fund to help Jordan reduce HCFC consumption to 50 per cent of its baseline…, by January 1, 2022,” Kisbi underlined.

Jordan is a signatory to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of a number of ozone-depleting substances.