Nigeria Targets 67.5% Reduction In HCFC Baseline Consumption

Nigeria is set to achieve 67.5 per cent reduction in Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) baseline consumption by 2025.

This is even as the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has launched a project ‘Stage Hydrochlorofluorocarbons Phase-Out Management Plan (HPMP) for Nigeria,’ as efforts to phase out 17.13 Ozone Depleting Potential (ODP) tonnes of HCFC-22 and assist Nigeria in meeting the target of 67.5 per cent reduction of HCFC-22 by 2025.

UNIDO regional director and representative, Nigeria Regional Office Hub, Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr. Jean Bakole, who disclosed this at the ‘Inception Workshop of the Stage III Project in Lagos, revealed that, the starting point for aggregate reductions of HCFC consumption for Nigeria is 1,224.27mt (67.33 ODP tonnes) of HCFC-22 consumption in the manufacturing sector.However, this has not been addressed yet, Bakole who was represented by the national programme coordinator, Environment and Energy, UNIDO, regional office for Nigeria and ECOWAS, Oluyomi Banjo, said, even as he averred that stage Ill aimed to phase out all this consumption.

Based on the country Programme report, the average consumption of HCFC-22 between 2019 and 2021 in the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (RAC) manufacturing sector amounted to 568.23mt (31.25 ODP tonnes); of which 295.02mt (16.23 ODP tonnes) are eligible based on the survey conducted during the preparation of Stage Ill.

Since Stage Ill was designed to phase out all HCFC-22 consumption in the manufacturing sector, UNIDO regional director disclosed that the total 1,224.27mt (67.33 ODP tonnes) of consumption will be deducted from the starting point after Stage Ill, adding that the remaining eligible consumption to be addressed in future stages will be 1,797.34mt (98.85 ODP tonnes) of HCFC-22 in the servicing sector.

e said UNIDO has assisted the Nigerian government to implement HCFCs phase-out management plan (HPMP) since 2010, adding that, “We worked with Nigeria in successfully achieving the ban on importation, production and phasing out of chloroflorocarbons, methylbromide and halons. In partnership with the Country, we completed the identification, aggregation and final disposal of unwanted chloroflorocarbons with a Nigerian owned company.”

Bakole however applauded Nigeria for being the most active developing countries in the negotiations of the Vienna Convention and its associated Montreal Protocol, adding that, “Nigeria has served on many committees and UNIDO has jointly received international awards with the Nigerian government on the implementation of the Montreal Protocol.”

In his remarks, the minister of Environment, Mohammed Hassan Abdullahi, who was represented by zonal director, Lagos and Southwest, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Agbenla, disclosed that Nigeria was able to achieve the phase-out of 118.6 MT of HCFC-141b in the manufacturing sector, adding that the successful completion of this and other activities, enabled the country to meet its Montreal Protocol’s target of 10 per cent HCFCs reduction from its baseline consumption in 2015.

“Upon completion of the project’s stage 1 activities, the stage II was approved in 2018, with the overall objective to achieve 51.35 per cent phase out of our HCFC consumption in 2023. To achieve the target, we commenced implementation of the HPMP stage II project in 2020 and have achieved the complete phase out of HCFC-141b from 1st January, 2023. Haven completed the HPMP stage II Project, we got approval of financial and technical support from the Multilateral fund of the Montreal Protocol to enable us implement the stage III of the Project,” he revealed.