The Ministry of Planning and Development is the national focal point for the Montreal Protocol to Phase out Ozone Depleting Substances and remains committed to assisting in the fulfillment of all national obligations under the Protocol for the ultimate protection of the ozone layer. Many large scale companies and industries use significant volumes of refrigerant in their air conditioning and chiller systems which in addition to being damaging to the ozone also contributes to global warming as these ozone depleting refrigerant are also greenhouse gases which cause global warming. Accordingly, the Ministry and United Nations Development Programme continue to engage suitable stakeholders in developing a project to address this issue using grant funding made available to this country under the Global Environmental Facility (GEF).

The broad objectives of the Project will include:

• Accelerating market transformation towards less energy intensive and low carbon technologies through innovative technical and economic incentives

• Developing efficiency program, evaluation and monitoring capacities

• Promoting safe handling and use of low-global warning potential (GWP) alternatives.

Photos below show meetings with stakeholders (the Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards, the University of Trinidad and Tobago, the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Association, the Refrigerant Recycle and Recovery Association, Trinity Power and Energy Dynamics) held during the period June 11-14, 2018, it is anticipated the detailed project proposal will be completed in the coming months.