Tobago distribution of halogen refrigerant leak detectors and sensitization

 Congratulations to our recertified RAC Technicians in Tobago

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Sensitization of Trade Licensing Unit - Ministry of Trade and Industry

 The National Ozone Unit continued its sensitization of our Border Control Officers with a session for the Trade Licensing Unit. Officers were refreshed on refrigerant, legislative controls and the upcoming requirements under the Kigali Amendment.

Launch of District Cooling Pilot Sites under the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Project entitled “Energy Efficiency through the Development of Low-carbon Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (RAC) Technologies in Trinidad and Tobago”

 

Trinidad and Tobago is continuing its thrust toward sustainable cooling. Cooling is a critical element for the sustainability and development of the economy.  It is required to ensure homes, offices, and cars are comfortable; industrial processes run safely and efficiently, and societies have preserved foods and vaccines for their population. Notwithstanding being identified as essential, cooling also has a significant adverse environmental impact.  The cooling technology used for refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) mainly utilize synthetic refrigerants that can either deplete the ozone layer or contribute to global warming and climate change.  As the effect of climate change such as increases in temperature continue to be experienced worldwide, the demand for cooling also continues to increase, there is therefore an urgent need to cut cooling related pollution and energy wastage.

 To ensure that Trinidad and Tobago is prepared for the increased demand for cooling and ready to mitigate the identified threats to the environment and sustainability, various environmentally friendly, energy saving and economical cooling methods are being explored.  Under the grant funded Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Project entitled “Energy Efficiency through the Development of Low-carbon RAC Technologies in Trinidad and Tobago, this country is seeking to introduce district cooling technology which is a modern, energy efficient way to air condition a network of buildings. In this system, central cooling plants house large, highly efficient equipment that produces chilled water for supply to customer buildings through an insulated underground piping network. These systems have been found to reduce costs and environmental impact associated with air conditioning. 

 After several years of feasibility studies and technical assessments performed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) who is the implementing partner for this GEF Project, the district cooling pilot sites have been launched. These pilot sites will be implemented at Couva through the Edan K Properties Ltd. and at Marabella through TOSL Engineering Ltd. The launch of these sites is a significant step toward the achievement of sustainable cooling at the national level and the transformation of the RAC market toward new, innovative and low carbon RAC technologies. The Couva site will also explore the concept of Cooling as a Service which is a business model to develop service providers engaged in the distribution of cooling. This model eliminates upfront investment in cooling technology for customers or end users, who instead pay per unit of cooling they consume from the service provider thereby strengthening incentives for efficient consumption.

 These activities are all in keeping with the National Cooling Strategy for Trinidad and Tobago, and through the overall implementation of this Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Project this country is expected to avoid direct emission of at least 644,396 carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2eq) of over the 4-year project period.

Site Visits by International District Cooling Specialists 

Investment Analysis and Finance Training Seminar for Project Developers to Promoting Energy Efficiency in RAC Systems

The Global Environmental Facility - Energy Efficiency through the development of Low Carbon Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Technologies in Trinidad and Tobago project, held an Investment Analysis and Financial Training Seminar for Project Developers. The event was geared towards training and capacity building of project developers in Trinidad and Tobago on Energy Efficient Technologies, namely District Cooling with regards to financial mechanisms and investment. The event featured International District Cooling Experts from District Energy Venture based in Sweden. 

This one-day event took place on Monday 14^th November 2022.

 

Thirty fourth (34th) Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (MOP34)

 The Thirty fourth (34^th) Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (MOP34) marked the 35^th anniversary of the Protocol, where delegates convened from 31 October – 4 November 2022 in Montreal, Canada.

The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago was represented at the 34^th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol by Dr. Marissa Gowrie, Deputy Environmental Manager/National Ozone Officer, National Ozone Unit, Environmental Policy and Planning Division, Ministry of Planning and Development; and Mr. Jonathan Bolai, Ozone Specialist, Environmental Policy and Planning Division, Ministry of Planning and Development for the Meeting.

MOP 34 opened with a preparatory segment on Monday 31^st October. This segment addressed the substantive agenda items and organization of work that was brought forward from the 44th meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (OEWG 44) held in Bangkok, Thailand. 

Delegates worked tirelessly throughout the week, utilizing the established contact groups, plenary sessions and bilateral consultations to build on their achievements made towards the Protocol and raised ambition to meet new challenges. The High Level Segment was opened Thursday November 3^rd and concluded early Saturday morning, 5^th November. While many of the issues required extensive negotiation and, in some cases, significant compromise, by the end of the meeting, parties were able to reach agreement on all issues on the agenda.

Parties adopted 24 decisions, which included the following:

·         illegal import of certain refrigeration, air-conditioning, and heat pump products and equipment;

·         identification of gaps in the global coverage of atmospheric monitoring of controlled substances and options for enhancing such monitoring;

·         collecting data to understand potential impacts of the COVID19 pandemic on hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) consumption in developing countries;

·         strengthening institutional processes with respect to information on HFC-23 by-product emissions;

·         Strengthening Montreal Protocol institutions, including for combatting illegal trade;

·         Ongoing emissions of carbon tetrachloride (CTC);

·         Critical-use exemptions (CUEs) for methyl bromide;

·         Stocks and quarantine and pre-shipment uses of methyl bromide;

·         Enabling enhanced access and facilitating the transition to energy-efficient and low or zero-global-warming-potential (GWP) technologies; and

·         Financial reports and budgets.

Key issues of consideration for Trinidad and Tobago were topics on energy efficiency, the terms of reference for study on the MLF replenishment for the triennium 2024-2026, Implementation of the Kigali Amendment, safety standards and end of life-management of refrigerants. Additionally Trinidad and Tobago also participated as a panelist at a side event on rising up for Small Island Developing States: Challenges and Opportunities towards sustainable cooling and efficient cold chain. This forum, provided an opportunity for Small Island Developing States to share experiences in addressing cold chain and cooling needs which transcended into issues of food security and the needs for sustainable cooling solutions that overcome the issues of accessibility, availability and electrical compatibility. Recognition was also given to Trinidad and Tobago on their excellent stewardship in protection of the ozone layer which is reflected within the publication of the 35^th Montreal Protocol Anniversary: Protecting the Ozone Layer, book launch.