(Originally published on 04/12/2017)

March 24^th, Jiangsu – To recognize the achievements of phasing out ozone depleting substances (ODS) in the solvent sector and preparing more enterprises to join the continuous initiative, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), together with the Foreign Economic Cooperation Office of Ministry of Environmental Protection (FECO/MEP), hosted a workshop during in Jiangsu Province.

China ratified the Montreal Protocol on curbing the use of ODS in 1991, with the goal to protect the ozone layer from being destroyed and preventing the harmful UV rays damaging life on earth. In 2007, upon the adoption of the acceleration of the phasing-out usage of Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), China has been working to reduce the use of the chemical compounds that damage the ozone layer, which have powerful warming effects and can lead to global warming. 

To prevent the environmental hazards that sit hand in hand with using HCFC, UNDP has been working on implementing projects that aim at identify viable environmental friendly solutions to phase out the use of HCFCs in various industrial sectors, including the solvent sector together with FECO. The first phase project that was successfully implemented from 2011 to 2015 and phased out 638.112 metric tons of HCFC-141b, helped China exceed its target of freezing HCFC-141b consumption at 4530.86 metric tons by 2013 and then reducing consumption by 7.9% in 2015.

The workshop- Implementing Summary of Stage I and Preliminary Training of Stage II on HCFCs Phase-out in the Solvent Sector, was therefore held to recognize the enterprises that successfully completed the phase out targets during the first phase project. The event also served as a platform for all the key stakeholders to share lessons and experiences. 9 enterprises were awarded with certificates of HCFC phase-out target completion at the workshop. At the same time, experiences from the best practices of those companies and specific requirements for enterprises to participate into the stage II project that is going to be launched in 2017 were introduced. 

“The sharing of successful experiences from those companies would provide great encouragement to companies who will participate in Stage II programme, and will help them avoid detours and improve working efficiency.” Said Hong Yun, UNDP China Programme manager on the Montreal Protocol portfolio. “The successful cases demonstrate the balance of achieving both environmental, social and economic benefits.”

For more information about this project click here >