BARBADOS IS ABOUT to embark on a programme that will see the hazardous gases used in air-conditioning units and refrigerators being phased out.
In keeping with the global trend to phase out hydrochloroflourocarbons (HCFCs), the island will start by freezing imports of HCFC gases next year, followed by a systematic reduction of imports by five per cent per year between 2015 and 2030.
HCFCs are dangerous to the ozone layer and countries like Barbados, which are signatory to the Montreal Protocol for the protection of the ozone layer, are obligated to phase them out by 2030.
Project manager in the Ministry of Environment and Drainage, Rickardo Ward, told a consultation at Savannah Hotel yesterday that the process should have commenced earlier this year but Barbados failed to start it because of a lack of participation. He said Barbados was one of the last countries to get the process started. (YB)
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