Nigeria’s environment free of carbon tetrachloride, FG declares

The Minister of Environment, Dr Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, on Thursday, disclosed that Nigeria has achieved its target for the phase-out of the use of Halons, Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) Methyl Bromide and Carbon Tetrachloride which are Ozone Depleting Substances in all sectors of the economy using the implementation of the Montreal Protocol’s programme.

He made this revelation while declaring open the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Programme (KCEP) project stakeholders’ inception workshop on “Improving Energy Efficiency in the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Cooling Sector organised by the ministry” in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Keffi, Nasarawa State.

According to him, “it is instructive to note that my ministry has been implementing the Montreal Protocol’s Programme to phase out the use of Ozone Depleting Substances in all sectors of our economy and over the years have achieved the protocol’s phase-out targets of 2010 for Halons, Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), Methyl Bromite, Carbon Tetrachloride among others.”

In a statement by the Director of Press, Mr Saghir el Mohammed, a copy of which was made available to the Nigerian Tribune in Abuja, the minister reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to phase out the use of Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), an Ozone-Depleting Substance currently used as a Refrigerant in the Refrigeration & Air conditioning sector and also as a Blowing agent in the Polyurethane foam sector.

The minister said the same vigour used in the implementation of the HCFC Phase-out programme will be used in the phase-down of high Global Warming Potential, Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), in line with the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.

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He further said that the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Programme’s (KCEP) project on the improvement of energy efficiency in the cooling sector will be consolidated to develop the National Cooling Plan Strategy for the country that will be backed by policies and regulations to be enforced by relevant MDAs for the ban on second-hand refrigeration and air conditioning appliances and inefficient cooling appliances.

“Researches have shown that the number of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment worldwide is expected to quadruple to 14 billion by 2050 with emission projection of approximately 8.97 gigatons Carbon dioxide equivalent, therefore, leaving the cooling sector unregulated will cause Greenhouse gas emission to skyrocket and take us far from achieving the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global temperature well below 2 degrees Centigrade.” He added.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Bakari Wadinga, affirmed that cooling is essential to human health and prosperity and is becoming more important as the world urbanises.

He urged participants to actively participate in the workshop and come up with recommendations for the successful implementation of the KCEP project on improving Energy Efficiency in the cooling sector.

The Resident Representative of the United Nation Development Programme, Mohamed Yahya congratulated Nigeria for the achievement recorded in the implementation of the global environmental treaties, especially the Montreal Protocol on the phase-out of Ozone Depleting Substances.

He conveyed the message of the Resident Representative that UNDP will continue to support the ministry in the implementation of projects towards sustaining the environment.

The workshop is the first activity for the project with the main aim to set up the institutional framework for the implementation of the project’s objective to promote the adoption of Energy Efficient, Climate-Friendly and affordable Refrigeration and Air conditioning technologies in Nigeria.