30 August 2017, We
Most of the countries of Europe and even all of our closest neighbors – Belarus, Russia, the Baltics – are the countries of the Montreal Treaty and its important component – the Kigali amendment. What does it mean?
We all undertook to gradually reduce production and use in the production of HFCs, which have a destructive for our planet greenhouse effect and confidently lead to an increase in the average annual temperature on Earth. Further on, Belarus has moved ahead with the implementation of the Kigali amendment – they have completely transferred national production to safe hydro-hydrogen. For example, the largest in Europe factory of refrigeration equipment “Atlant”, plants “MAZ-Kupava” and JSC “David-Gorodok Electromechanical Plant”. In addition, there is a project in the country “Assistance in the implementation of accelerated withdrawal from circulation of HFCs in countries with economies in transition”, which has international financing channels. Belarus is the most advanced of the post-Soviet states, which is confidently striding along the road to improving the environmental friendliness of its productions.
Ukraine and Russia are at approximately the same level in meeting the basic requirements of the Kigali amendment and have very similar problems related to the production and use of HFCs. Firstly, for these countries it is possible to say a gentle schedule for reducing the volume of HFC circulation, which plays not quite on hand to us.
Developed countries (Group I): USA, Canada, Japan, EU, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and others.
- 2019-2023 – 90%;
- 2024-2028 – 60%;
- 2029-2033 – thirty%;
- 2034-2035 – 20%;
- From 2036 – 15%.
This percentage is the volume from the base level (the presence of refrigerants in the country BEFORE the adoption of the Kigali amendment), which is the maximum permissible for the country in a certain period of time. A fairly low rate of volume reduction in the first place – complicates life for future generations of industries, because it transfers what still needs to be done to a later period.
Second, at the same time, it reduces the competitiveness of products produced using HFC refrigerants, because the whole paradox is that using more environmentally friendly ones – propane (R290), ammonia (R717), carbon dioxide (R744), isobutane (R600a ), Propylene (R1270), butane (R600), water (R718) – is not only environmentally attractive, but also economically, technologically, more efficient from the point of view of energy indicators.
For Ukraine, as well as for Russia, in the near future, the most urgent task for this project will be the correct calculation of the initial baseline level, the magnitude of which will directly determine the intensity of the reduction in the circulation of harmful refrigerants in the country, the reality of the risks associated with the non-fulfillment of these obligations . And leading specialized seminars and meetings of specialists on energy efficiency, climate systems and refrigeration equipment discuss these problems at every opportunity.
After the activation of the Kigali amendment, all participating countries will be required to comply with stringent restrictions on the implementation of HFC refrigerants and products made with their use in countries that are not party to the agreement. It is this basic condition that gives the Montreal Treaty such efficiency in comparison with other international environmental associations.
Therefore, the non-ratification of the Kigali amendment by the political elite of Ukraine does not solve anything for the production of HFCs. Because if the export of products in the cycle using HFCs is not so critical, then the ban on imports of HFCs themselves (R134a, R32, R410A and many others) and machine components, which often have HFCs (compressors, air conditioners, Household, commercial and medical refrigerators and freezers, medical metered-dose inhalers, means and systems of fire-extinguishing) is already quite critical.
The Kigali poproke comes into force on January 1, 2019. And even now it seems that there are still enough problems in Ukraine, and there is something to work on to improve the image of the country, preserve the ecological situation, increase the competitiveness of products of national industries, but to postpone the future implementation of this one of the most important international environmental projects Business is not permissible. Because we risk being in the future in the zone of its non-fulfillment. As they say, ignoring reality does not reduce its objective meaning.
Specialists of the sectors using HFC refrigerants in their cycle note the following important tasks, which must be strictly implemented in the very near future. They unreservedly agree and admire the methods used by Belarus in this matter. Namely:
- Change in national legislation in favor of environmental resources, a confident reduction in the circulation of HFCs in domestic production;
- Conducting educational projects for employees of heavy industries, customs clearance of cargo to isolate and restrict the use of HFCs;
- Development of a strategy for re-equipment of production facilities for ecological analogues.
We are sure that Ukraine will not remain on the side of world environmental trends and will be a full partner of international long-term projects.