|
Jamaica will host the staging of
the Montreal Protocol Regional Workshop on Ozone Friendly Alternative
technologies for the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Sector from
August 28 to September 1, 2006.
The United Nations Environment
Programme, Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNEP/ROLAC)
has collaborated with the Government of Jamaica and the Caribbean
Maritime Institute to host the workshop; which is intended to provide
world class industry training for refrigeration technicians and to
facilitate the meeting of Ozone Officers from the English speaking
Caribbean.
The workshop will begin with
meeting of air-conditioning and refrigeration technicians on Monday
August 28, however the official opening ceremony will be held on
August 29, 2006 during which the Honourable Dean Peart, Minister of
Local Government and Environment, is scheduled to speak.
The five-day event will be staged
at two locations, the Caribbean Maritime Institute and the Knutsford
Court Hotel and will feature presenters from Jamaica, Mexico, Cuba,
Canada, the United States and throughout the Caribbean.
Jamaica was selected by UNEP/ROLAC to host the workshop because of the
lead role taken in the complete phase out of Chlorofluorocarbons
(CFC’s). Since January 1, 2006 Jamaica ceased the importation of
products containing CFCs which are found in some refrigerants and
aerosols and is now ahead in the Caribbean region in the phase out of
Ozone Depleting Substances.
The phase out of CFCs in Jamaica
was achieved through the enactment of legislation, the adoption of
nationally appropriate ozone friendly technologies and the active
cooperation between public and private sectors.
Under the Montreal Protocol governments worldwide have agreed to a
number of measures to reduce the production and use of CFCs and
several Halons. Since 1987 the Protocol has been amended several times
to accelerate the phase-out schedules; resulting from further
scientific assessment. Jamaica became a signatory to the agreement in
1993 and boasts an active National Ozone Unit (NOU) which operates
within NEPA.
|
