By Hana Namrouqa – Jun 28,2016
AMMAN — Work is under way to deliver new technology to companies in the cooling and thermal insulation sector to make their work more environmentally friendly, a senior government official said on Monday.
A total of 100 companies operating in the sector will benefit from the $6 million (JD4.25 million) initiative, Minister of Environment Yaseen Khayyat said.
The projects will increase the production capacity and raise the regional and international competitiveness of 100 companies producing air conditioning devices, chillers and insulation materials, Khayyat said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.
The ministry is working with the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation to draw up the projects before seeking approval from the executive committee of the Montreal Fund.
Jordan is a signatory to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of a number of ozone-depleting substances.
In 2014, Jordan received a $2.7 million (JD1.91 million) grant from the Montreal Fund to support phasing out the use of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), which damage the ozone layer.
The Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol is financing the Kingdom’s strategy to get rid of 1,500 tonnes of these chemicals by the year 2020.
The strategy’s first phase aims at reducing 20 per cent of HCFCs by 2017 by replacing central cooling systems using the substance, banning the import of home appliances that use the harmful mixture of gases and powering air conditioning systems with solar power.
A separate initiative is aimed at capacity building for 200 companies that carry out maintenance work on chillers and cooling systems, in addition to reinforcing the capacities of the Ministry of Environment and government institutions in charge of enforcing regulations and carrying out programmes that aim at phasing out the use or illegal trade of ozone-depleting substances, according to the ministry.
http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/ministry-helping-companies-phase-out-ozone-depleting-gases