SEAP Ozone Officers Discuss Low-GWP Alternatives in Bangkok

Bangkok, 5-7 October 2015 – National 0zone Officers (NOOS) from 13 countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific attended the Thematic Meeting of the Southeast Asia and the Pacific (SEAP) Network of Ozone Officers organized jointly by UNEP OzonAction Compliance Assistance Program (CAP) in the UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) and the Department of Industry Works (DIW), Royal Thai Government. The meeting was held at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, from 5-7 October 2015. A total of 46 participants including government officials, technical and policy experts as well as implementing agencies of the Montreal Protocol’s Multilateral Fund and Ozone Secretariat, exchanged experiences on the recovery, recycling and reclamation of ozone-depleting substances (ODS) as well the safe adoption of flammable refrigerants, phase-out of HCFC in the foam sector and other related topics. The SEAP countries aim to avoid the use of alternatives with higher global warming potential (GWP) when phasing out HCFCs and to be prepared for the mainly safety-related challenges associated with low-GWP alternatives such as hydrocarbon R290 and HFC-32. To support this objective, the meeting discussed how countries can prepare themselves for the safe adoption of low-GWP alternatives in the refrigeration and air-conditioning sector from the perspectives of government rules and regulations, the servicing sector infrastructure and customer education. A comprehensive action plan was agreed upon following the discussions which would be reprioritised by countries based on their national situations. The meeting also discussed the role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in strengthening regional cooperation, with participants agreeing on having a regional competition on good practices for refrigeration servicing technicians. The event, organised as a follow-up to the first Network Meeting in South Korea earlier this year, was funded by the Multilateral Fund for the implementation of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.   The SEAP network comprises the 10 ASEAN Member States, namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam plus Timor-Leste as an observer to ASEAN and two developed countries: Australia and Sweden. Contact: Shaofeng Hu, Regional Network Coordinator South East Asia and the Pacific, OzonAction Compliance Assistance Programme, UNEP Regional Office for Asia and Pacific