Environmentalists,
industrialists, manufacturers and academia on Wednesday pledged to jointly work
with the climate change ministry to completely phase out the use of ozone layer
depleting substances in Pakistan under the Montreal Protocol.
They stressed that getting rid of
the 13 different ozone depleting substances (ODSs) including
hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) and Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) is inevitable to
protect the ozone layer or ozone shield, which protects all sorts of the life
on earth and environment from adverse impacts of ultraviolet (UV) rays or
radiation of the Sun.
The harmful substances strike the
ozone and splits it apart. However, the ozone depletion has led to a global
concern as the thinning protective coat over Earth is letting harmful
ultraviolet light pass, which has led to many health hazards like skin cancer,
damages to plants and plankton as well as cataracts. Therefore many governments
have banned products that produce these ODS.
The ozone layer is
a belt of the naturally occurring gas "ozone." It sits 9.3 to 18.6
miles (15 to 30 kilometers) above Earth, and serves as a shield from the
harmful ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation emitted by the sun. Ozone is
a highly reactive molecule that contains three oxygen atoms.
Speaking as a chief guest at a
day-long workshop on ‘Kigali Amendment- the Way Forward’, Dechen
Tsering, Asia-Pacific regional director at the United Nations Environment
Programme, told the participants that the ozone-depleting substances generally
contain chlorine, fluorine, bromine, carbon, and hydrogen in varying
proportions and are often described by the general term halocarbons. Besides,
hydrochlorofluorocarbons, chlorofluorocarbons, carbon tetrachloride, and methyl
chloroform are important human-produced ozone-depleting gases that have been
used in many applications including refrigeration, air conditioning, foam
blowing, cleaning of electronics components and as solvents.
She appreciated the commitment of
Pakistan to phasing out the ozone depleting substances under Montreal Protocol,
which is considered to be the most successful global environmental agreement
setting out commitments by every country in the world to eliminate production
and use of the chemicals that damage the ozone layer.
Ms. Tsering reiterated, “The UN
Environment Programme will remain actively engaged with Pakistan in development
of enabling activities for the phasing down
of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) under Kigali Amendment to the Montreal
Protocol, which was reached in the Rwanda capital of Kigali in October 15,
2016.”
The event was organisd by the Ozone
Cell of the Ministry of Climate Change in collaboration with the United Nations
Environment Programme here in Islamabad to discuss various aspects and
way-forward of the ozone depleting gases in Pakistan. The vent was attended by
various government and non-governmental organisations, academia, researchers,
students and representatives of industries.
Climate Change Ministry’s Secretary,
Syed Abu Ahmad Akif, in his remarks acknowledged the efforts of UN
Environment Programme in extending all support to Pakistan along with other
implementing agencies, in achieving the compliance set under Montreal Protocol
for phasing out the ozone layer-damaging gases in Pakistan.
The climate change secretary
underlined need to rationalize or optimise the use of the natural resources to
protect humans, biodiversity and environment from devastating impacts of
natural calamities including ozone depletion.
“We humans cannot continue to
live a healthy life, if we don’t make of lifestyle nature-compatible and live
our lives in complete harmony with nature,” he told the participants,” the
climate Change Secretary said.
He told the participants that using
electric appliances, particularly air conditioning systems and refrigerators at
home or offices prudently would help reduce pressure on our energy systems and
local heat impacts in our urban areas.
Giving overview of the Kiagali
Amendment to Montoreal Protocol, Joint Secretary (International Cooperation)
Climate Change Ministry, Mr. Rizwan Ahmad Sheikh, said that the Kigali
Amendment, sealed during the 28th Meeting of Parties to the Montreal Protocol
in the Rwandan capital, seeks to phase down production and consumption of
hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) to avoid up to 0.5°C of warming by 2100.
He said
that The Kigali Amendment adds powerful greenhouse gases namely
Hydroflorocarbon (HFCs) gases to the list of ozone layer depleting substances
under the Montreal Protocol, which has to be also phased down under the
amendment.
Mr. Sheik told participants that
under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, countries are required to
gradually reduce the Hydroflorocarbons gases use by 80-85 percent by year 2040,
which is used in air conditioners, refrigerators and under industrial
appliances.
The Kigali Amendment is expected to
come into force – on January
1, 2019 – only nine countries have ratified it. Because, the
deal to come into force at least 20 parties need to have ratified it.
Countries that have hitherto
ratified the Kigali Amendment include Mali, the Federate State of Micronesia,
the Marshall Islands, Rwanda, Palau, Norway, Chile, Tuvalu and The Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea. Pakistan has already signed the Amendment and
is likely to ratify it soon.
Talking about the HCFC’s phase out
in Pakistan, the joint secretary said that the country was able to reduce 10
percent use of the HCFCs by 2015 under the Pakistan’s HCFC phase-Out Management
Plan (HPMP).
The country is well on track to
achieve more 35 percent reduction in the HCFC use in air conditioning systems,
refrigerators and other appliances produced by the industrial sector in the
country is to be achieved, he added.
“Pakistan is contributing its part
to phase out the use of ozone depleting substances in collaboration with
industrial sectors, scientist, academia and other civil society and government
organisations as a part of global efforts to protect environment and human
health from the devastating impacts by restoring the cracked ozone layer from
where dangerous ultraviolet rays of sun reach to earth and damage the earth
ecosystem and human health,” the joint secretary Rizwan Ahmad Sheikh
emphasized.
HFCs, which are commonly used in air
conditioners and refrigeration systems, belong to a category of dangerous
greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming and therefore efforts to
reduce them must be sustained and fast-tracked.
Earlier, Sr. Regional
Coordinator for Asia-Pacific at the UN Environment Programme, Mr. Atul Bagai
and UN Industrial Development Organisation’s consultant Mr. Iqbal P. Sheikh
also spoke on the event and underlined need for Pakistan to closely work with
industrial sectors to reduce use of the environmentally-harmful and ozone layer
cracking gases, particularly in the industries which produce refrigerators and
air conditioning systems.
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