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Paris, France, Wednesday January 17, 2018: Ozone Depleting Substances Project Officer in the National Ozone Unit, Mr. Leslie Smith was among several participants who attended the “Kick-Off” Meeting of the European Commission funded Sustainable and Climate Friendly Phase-out of Ozone Depleting Substances (SPODS) Project. Representatives of the participating countries (Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Paraguay, Venezuela and Grenada) along with representatives from the European Commission (donor) and implementing agencies, GIZ Proklima, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) were among the persons present to officially commence the project.
The specific objectives of the SPODS project are: (1) to ensure commitment and support the establishment of alliances between selected countries in Latin America and the Caribbean on global HFC mitigation policies, particularly in relation to the implementation of the new Kigali amendment and (2) to encourage the adoption of climate-friendly replacement technologies, exploring and promoting the creation of new market opportunities in green technology products that represent climate-friendly alternatives to ozone-depleting substances.
The National Ozone Unit, Grenada will work long with GIZ Proklima and UNIDO as implementing agencies for the project activities. The activities for Grenada under the project include:
- an inventory of ODS banks
- an analysis and development of a local/regional collection system, availability and options for destruction technology.
- development and implementation of a national/regional training of trainers concept on the safe use of natural refrigerants
- capacity building for good refrigeration practices in the use of natural refrigerant for technicians in the informal sector
- development of strategies and large pilot projects with low GWP refrigerants
- A communication and awareness campaign that would include other Caribbean islands
The project is expected to be completed in the next 36 months and has a total contribution in excess of three million Euros (€3M) to be distributed among the 7 partner countries.
Friday January 26th, 2018, St. George’s Grenada: Ozone Depleting Substances Project Officer in the National Ozone Unit (NOU), Mr. Leslie Smith, presented a number of tools and equipment to aid in the implementation of Good Refrigeration Practices in the refrigeration and air-conditioning sector in Grenada. This initiative is an integral activity under Grenada’s Hydrofluorocarbon (HCFC) Phase-out Management Plan (HPMP).
The receipients of the items were the Boca Secondary School and Mr. Kitakufei Nelson. Boca Secondary School is one of two secondary schools on the island where refrigeration and air-conditionon is offered as part of the curriculum. Mr. Kitakufei Nelson is a recent graduate of the T A Marryshow Community College and one of the young technicians that the NOU has assisted in finding employment locally. The tools and equipment presented are to be used to promote good refrigeration practices that would avoid the release of harmful ozone depleting substances and green house gases into the atmosphere during installation and service practices. Boca Secondary School has already been a receipient of equipment from the NOU in 2016 and what is received here is to complement what was already donated. The St. Mark’s Secondary School is another receipient of tools and equipment from the NOU.
ST. GEORGE’S, GRENADA, 25/01/18: The National Ozone Unit (NOU) in the Energy Division of the Ministry of Finance and Energy, under the “Cool Contribution fighting Climate Change” (C4) project organized, a National Consultation for stakeholders from the refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) sector in Grenada. The consultation, hosted in partnership with GIZ, introduced and informed on the upcoming national inventory of emissions and the energy and refrigerant use in the RAC sector. It also aimed at providing information on the methodology and approach to be used in conducting the inventory survey and to gain stakeholder co-operation and feedback needed for a successful outcome. GIZ representative Marion Geiss remarked that: “With the inventory, we hope to know what is the exact contribution of the RAC sector to Grenada’s Global Warming Potential and to highlight HFC refrigerants, as they are getting phased out around the world, they will become less available and more expensive to procure. Therefore we want to make sure Grenada is ready to take advantage of Natural Refrigerants.” The participants were sensitized on the impacts of harmful refrigerant gases on the environment and received information about the alternatives available to them. The programme included presentations from local and international experts on current technology and refrigerant alternatives in the RAC sector and updates on international treaties affecting the RAC markets. O’Neal Peters, Marketing Manager at SP‘s International Trading, stated that his expectations from the meeting were to get updates on the state of the market to improve his business and make sure that his product offering is up-to-date. Grenada being a signatory to most of the Multilateral Environmental Agreements, including the Montreal Protocol, is required to phase out the consumption of Ozone Depleting Substances and other high global warming gases consumed in the RAC sector and replace them with environmentally friendly alternatives, such as natural refrigerants. Grenada also made commitments under the Nationally Determined Contributions of the United National Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. With the challenges presented by the adverse effects of climate change and general concerns about the quality of our environment, the Government of Grenada, through the National Ozone Unit, continues to plan and implement a number of measures to reduce the environmental impact of these gases used in the RAC sector.. Mrs. Kim Fredericks, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and Energy in her remarks said: “The Montreal Protocol, by meeting and surpassing its targets, is the most successful environmental international to date and that has happened largely to the level of national and international cooperation that took place. The C4 project exemplifies one of these cooperations.” The global program “Cool Contribution fighting Climate Change” (C4), being implemented by the National Ozone Unit (NOU) in the Energy Division of the Ministry of Finance and Energy, in conjunction with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) as part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) promotes the accelerated international control of ozone depleting as well as high global warming potential substances. It also aims to increase energy efficiency in the RAC sector. Furthermore, the project supports Grenada, as one of its partner countries, in formulating national mitigation strategies in the RAC sector and thereby advancing their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). End*** _______________________________________________________________________ 
National Ozone Unit of Grenada 