Speakers at a workshop in Dhaka has underscored the need for phasing out the hydro fluorocarbon gases which are highly potential to global warming but now being used as alternative to chlorofluorocarbon for cooling purposes.
At a dissemination workshop on HFC issues under Montreal Protocol at Department of Environment, they called for HFC Phase-out Management Plan and exploring opportunities from global support in phasing out the gases.
Secretary of ministry of environment and forests Mesbah ul Alam attended the workshop as the chief guest while director general of the DOE Monowar Islam was in the chair.
In the technical session, senior scientific officer of ozone cell of the DoE SK Purkayastha and consultant of HCFC phase-out management plan, DoE Mohammad Reazuddin, spoke on current use of HCFC and HFCs and their alternate options. Director of DoE M. Shahjahan spoke, among others, on the occasion.
The speakers said major ozone depleting substances including CFCs, halons, carbon tetrachloride were phased out under Montreal Protocol from January, 2010. But, some gases being used as alternate to the ODS and some of them are high potent greenhouse gases.
They said the HFC gases were zero ozone depleting but highly potential to global warming and it was controlled under Kyoto Protocol.
HFC gases, they said, are now being used in domestic, small commercial, and large commercial refrigeration and air-conditioning; industrial refrigeration and food processing, solvent and for pharmaceutical uses.
Against this backdrop, some countries proposed for control of the HFC gases under Montreal Protocol to have the climate benefits along with ozone benefits at the same time.
The workshop was organised to disseminate information about the status of the implementation of the Montreal Protocol in Bangladesh and explore ways to include HFCs as a controlled substance under Montreal Protocol.
Source : New Age
