The Ministry of Municipality and Environment, represented by the Radiation and Chemical Protection Department, in co-operation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), held yesterday a briefing on the ‘Kigali Amendment’ on hydrofluorocarbon compounds that cause severe damage to the environment.
More than 150 countries, at a conference in October 2016, in the Rwandan capital Kigali, agreed on an agreement to gradually phase out greenhouse gases and other environmental damage.
The participating states adopted a timetable for the phasing out of hydrofluorocarbons, as this gas used in refrigerators and air-conditioners is very harmful to the environment.
The ‘Kigali Amendment’ came in the form of an amendment to the Montreal Protocol on the protection of the ozone layer, which will see amendment to reduce rich countries’ use of hydrofluorocarbons by 10% starting in 2019.
The director of Radiation and Chemical Protection Department at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment Aisha Ahmed al-Baker, highlighted the importance of the role of the ministry in terms of achieving a number of objectives including protecting and developing the environment in a sustainable manner that ensures harmony between economic and social development, and protecting the environment for the benefit of future generations and in line with Qatar National Vision 2030.
Al-Baker added that the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, in co-operation with the relevant State bodies, monitored the import and export of HCFCs and reported periodically to the convention secretariat and the Multilateral Fund secretariat on the total and sectoral consumption of each substance, as well as the control of illegal practices in the trade of ozone-depleting substances and tightening market controls. It also held training programmes for various stakeholders.
Al-Baker said that in the State of Qatar, HCFCs are mainly involved in two main sectors which are domestic, commercial and industrial refrigeration as well as air-conditioning, central air-conditioning, and industrial insulation. UNEP expert Ayman al-Talouni said the ‘Kigali Amendment’, approved at the 28th Conference to the Montreal Protocol, was the cornerstone for reducing the use of HCFCs by about 15% of world average consumption by mid-century.
The manager of the Department of Environmental Observation at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment Engineer Hussein Saad al-Kibisi, said that since 2011, the State of Qatar, in co-operation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), has implemented the national strategy for the phase out of HCFCs in accordance with the obligations of Montreal Protocol.


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