July 7, 2023, Bangkok – the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) hosted a side event during the 45TH Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) meeting of the Montreal Protocol, hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Ozone Secretariat. The event featured the progress towards enabling sustainable and energy efficient cold chain technologies in southeast Asia through the Global Partnership for Improving the Food Cold Chain in the Philippines (FCC) project.
Among the topics discussed in this high-level technical forum were energy-efficient and low- or zero-global-warming-potential (GWP) technologies in the refrigeration and airconditioning (RAC), especially in the energy intensive sectors such as cold chains.
The “Cold Chain Innovation Hub (CCI-Hub) Philippines – Enabling sustainable food cold chain technologies in Southeast Asian Region (SEA)” side event discussed the initiatives in promoting low/zero GWP and energy efficient technologies through standards, capacity building and technology transfer, as embodied by the CCI-Hub located in Taguig City, Philippines. CCI-Hub features the best-in-class cold chain refrigeration technologies that are the first in the region.
Mr. Jan Dusek, Head of Global Partnership of CCI-Hub and COO of ATMOsphere presented how the CCI-Hub was operationalized as an ecosystem of technical resources, training, knowledge sharing and stakeholder collaboration through technical cooperation and industry contributions. Engr. Gilda Garibay, FCC Project Lead, discussed the progress made from the project in terms of partnering with the Government in creating an enabling environment for low/zero GWP and energy efficient cold chains through updating standards and developing policy instruments, capacity building and financing. Mr. Philipp Denzinger of GIZ presented Proklima’s initiatives on cooling such as the Fit for Green Cooling, Cool Training in Germany, as well as other demonstration projects and relevant publications. Mr. Thomas Trevisan, Deputy Nanager for Public Affairs for Ozone, Climate, Energy and Chemicals of ATMOsphere discussed global policy and market trends on F-Gas regulation and PFAS.
The OEGW meeting also discussed issues arising from the 2022 quadrennial assessment and synthesis report of the Scientific Assessment Panel (SAP), the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel (EEAP) and the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP); the consumption and production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) not listed in Annex F; availability of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs); the update to the TEAP report on information on alternatives to HFCs; and, potential areas of focus for the 2026 quadrennial assessment.
National Policy and Regulations Coordinator
Global Partnership for Food Cold Chain in the Philippines Project