Management and Destruction of Existing Ozone Depleting Substances Banks

The Montreal Protocol has been effectively restricting the production and consumption of ODS. The activities under the Montreal Protocol have shown their effect: The ozone layer has not deteriorated further since 2000 and is believed to start recovering. However, extensive use of ODS over the past decades have led to an accumulation of ODS banks. The management of these banks is not covered by the Montreal Protocol, but there has been an increasing awareness of the problems related to ODS banks since 2005, when TEAP published a first report on the extent of ODS banks: Emissions from ODS banks contribute significantly to climate change and the depletion of the ozone layer. Reducing these emissions by destroying ODS banks could accelerate the recovery of the ozone layer by 6.5 years. Fast reactions are however urgently needed because ODS are successively released from the banks. The most important ODS are halons, CFCs, HCFCs and other halocarbons such as carbon tetrachloride and methyl chloroform. There are no significant banks for the latter and halons are intended for recycling and re-use. Consequently the most important substance groups are CFC and HCFC, predominately found in the refrigeration and air conditioning and foam sectors. Initial efforts are being made in developing countries with respect to ODS bank management. Halon bank management was introduced from the beginning with the aim to reuse halons as long as possible. Other activities include demonstration projects for CFC and HCFC destruction in several developing countries, as decided by the Multilateral Fund in 2009. Still, ODS bank management is in its infancy in developing countries. The halon bank management is working with varying success only. The destruction demonstration projects appear insufficient to provide proper guidance on establishing national frameworks and to follow long term effective strategies. Thus there is a strong need to quickly extend efforts in ODS bank management, avoiding negative environmental impacts. A successful ODS bank management needs a sound understanding of existing ODS banks, technical feasibility of ODS recovery and destruction, identification of associated costs as well as barriers and appropriate policy measures. Reducing CFC emissions in the RAC and foam sectors result in the highest benefits for both the climate and the ozone layer. The largest CFC amounts (metric tonnes) are found in the commercial and domestic refrigeration subsector (refrigerants and blowing agents). As establishing an ODS bank management will not be substance specific, HCFC from the RAC sectors also will be covered, which is particularly important to fight climate change. HCFCs are dominantly found in the commercial refrigeration and stationary AC subsector. Overall, the most important subsectors are the commercial and domestic refrigeration subsectors and the stationary air conditioning subsector and the appliances within these subsectors should be given preference for ODS bank management. These subsectors can also be managed with comparably low effort regarding the technical feasibility and costs of ODS bank management. Because of relatively low costs, industrial refrigeration should be part of ODS bank management, even though little amounts are found in this subsector. A significant part of CFC blowing agents (~ 50 %, metric tonnes) is found in construction foams used for buildings, but at the moment it requires high effort to recover ODS from these foams. Furthermore, ODS banks in construction foam are not diminishing as quickly as in RAC equipment due to long building lifetimes. Thus foam subsectors are currently not a priority for ODS bank management. These subsectors can also be managed with comparably low effort regarding the technical feasibility and costs of ODS bank management. Because of relatively low costs, industrial refrigeration should be part of ODS bank management, even though little amounts are found in this subsector. A significant part of CFC blowing agents (~ 50 %, metric tonnes) is found in construction foams used for buildings, but at the moment it requires high effort to recover ODS from these foams. Furthermore, ODS banks in construction foam are not diminishing as quickly as in RAC equipment due to long building lifetimes. Thus foam subsectors are currently not a priority for ODS bank management. […] In developing countries where most banks are still not recovered, EPR schemes – particularly suitable for appliances are generally preferable over financing schemes depending on the voluntary carbon market, because only EPR schemes provide a long term stable and sufficient incentive to invest in environmentally safe technology. Read/Download the Publication, GIZ-Proklima International, 16 November 2015