Workshop on Lifecycle Refrigerant Management for the Africa Networks of Ozone Officers

Held on the margins of the Joint Network Meeting of 54 African National Ozone Officers, the CCAC Workshop on Lifecycle Refrigerant Management (LRM) was held to strengthen regional commitment to adopt integrated refrigerant lifecycle approaches, promoting energy-efficient, climate-friendly technologies and improved end-of-life management of refrigerants to reduce emissions and support Kigali Amendment goals. Currently, 100 Article 5 or developing countries are developing inventories of banks of Ozone depleting substances (ODS) and HFCs with support from the Multilateral Fund. Together with partners, the CCAC aims to deepen understanding and enhance the capacity of developing countries on the available and low-hanging fruit solutions to reduce emissions through LRM. The workshop looked at various financing options for end-of-life management of unwanted or waste ODS/HFCs, such as extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes, and carbon markets, including under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Participants also discussed experiences of government and private sector stakeholders on the transboundary movements of refrigerants and looked at opportunities to strengthen collaboration between Montreal Protocol and Basel Convention focal points.

Moreover, the topic of Environmental Dumping of Cooling Appliances as a Challenge in Effective LRM and Next Steps was also discussed, which led to the "Declaration on Shared Responsibility to Advance Accessibility to Efficient Cooling Technology with Climate-friendly Refrigerants" as an outcome of the workshop.