Lagos, 30 April 2021 - The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Environment held a three-day training in Lagos for technicians and engineers to improve energy efficiency in the Refrigeration and Air-conditioning (RAC) servicing sector in Nigeria.

The training was organized within the framework of the UNDP Kigali Cooling Efficiency Programme (KCEP), which aims to phase-out the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The progamme is assisting Nigeria to adopt energy efficient, climate friendly, affordable refrigeration and air condition technologies. 

Participants had an opportunity to learn best practices on how to reduce the energy consumption of serviced equipment and were provided with the necessary tools to integrate efficiency approaches in the RAC servicing sector. The training also outlined the needed improvement of Refrigeration & Air-conditioning service practices through training, enhanced curricula and new codes of practice. 

Participants of the UNDP Nigeria training programme for technicians and engineers in Lagos

Speaking about the programme, Muyiwa Odele, Team Lead, Environment and Energy, UNDP Nigeria, said: “The integration of Energy Efficiency (EE) Practices into the RAC Servicing Sector is to be consolidated into the implementation of the National Cooling Plan for Nigeria which has to be in line with the Kigali requirements. Thus, this first batch of training of service personnel will result in having the sector align with global best practices in reducing energy consumption of serviced equipment and lead to eventual energy use reduction in a country where the energy sector is under-going serious challenges.”

The training  was facilitated by the Centro Studi Galileo, an Italian training institute that provides training in the sectors of refrigeration, air conditioning and renewable energy, with the support from Cool Plus Limited, a refrigeration and air condition facility in Lagos. 

In the closing remarks, Engineer Idris Abdullahi, National Ozone Officer, Ministry of Environment, stated: “The Refrigeration and air condition sector provides us with a huge opportunity to reduce greenhouse gases. The participants of this training will eventually train 90 technicians on how to improve energy efficiency of service refrigeration and air condition appliances.”

Engineer Idris added that “This collaborative venture will also improve living conditions by helping people adopt affordable, energy efficient, climate-friendly cooling options. Through these efforts, we aim to put in place the minimum energy performance standard for all refrigeration and air condition equipment in Nigeria.”  

Note to the editors:

Nigeria gained access to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in October 1988. The Multilateral Fund (MLF) for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol established under Article 10 of the Montreal Protocol provides funds for meeting the compliance obligations for phase out of Ozone-Depleting Substances (ODSs) to parties operating under Article 5 (developing countries) of the Montreal Protocol. 

The funding provided by the MLF is linked to quantitative phase-out targets for specific Ozone-Depleting substance for meeting compliance obligation under the Montreal Protocol and includes industrial conversion to non-ODS technologies, technical assistance, training and capacity building. 

However, most of the ozone depleting substances are very potent greenhouse gases, their phase-out has had considerable co-benefits to the climate change mitigation and therefore, in order to further protect the climate and the ozone layer, in October of 2016, during the 28th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer held in Rwanda, more than 170 countries agreed to amend the Protocol through what was called the “Kigali Amendment”. 

The Kigali Agreement establishes specific targets and timetables to phase-down the production and consumption of HFCs, and carries an agreement by developed countries to help finance the transition of developing countries to climate-friendly substances, through a global commitment that will avoid more than 80 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by 2050 . Countries that ratify the Kigali Amendment commit to cut the production and consumption of HFCs by more than 80 percent over the next 30 years. And Nigeria, being a signatory is also bound by this agreement.

For more information and media enquiries contact:

Rejoice Emmanuel – Communications Associate, UNDP Nigeria | +234 809 494 4102 | rejoice.emmanuel@undp.org