Fiji stands with our Pacific ozone family in making a significant contribution in the fight against climate change through the implementation of the Kigali Amendment at national level, says Director Environment Sandeep Singh.
She made the statement at the opening of the second Pacific Island Countries Network meeting for Ozone Officers in Fiji at the Warwick Fiji yesterday.
“The Pacific network has demonstrated strong collaboration at the regional level to phase-out hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) and I am urging all Pacific Island Countries to maintain our regional strength for the hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) phase-down,” she said.
The director stressed that while most of the PIC were preparing for HFC freeze from January 1, 2024, it was important to keep in mind that Article 5 countries needed to maintain HCFC phase-out achievements, which all PICs had phased out consumption ahead of the obligations.
“I encourage our Pacific neighbours to continue effective regional and global co-operation within the Montreal Protocol as it has successfully phased out substances that depleted the ozone layer and will phase down substances that contribute to high global warming through the Kigali Amendment.”
The week-long discussions on the work of the Montreal Protocol will focus on exchanging experiences, developing skills and tapping into the expertise that will be available at the meeting.
“I urge all our ozone officers to take the opportunity to learn from the experiences of each country, learn from our experts and contribute to positive discussions and recommendations especially on the preparations towards the Implementation Plans for Kigali Amendment and not forgetting preparations for the Meetings of the Parties (MOP) in Montreal Canada at the end of this month.”
Ms Singh thanked the United Nations Environment Programme and the Multilateral Fund for their support in building capacity for the smooth implementation of the Montreal Protocol work and multilateral fund projects that ensured countries adapted to environmentally friendly refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC) technologies.
