News

Colleen Keyworth was appointed President for the year 2023 with Dr. Ina Colombo-Youla as President-Elect to serve the following year.   Paris, 30 November 2022 – Formed this year, the International Network for Women in Cooling (INWIC) has appointed its first President and President-Elect. Colleen Keyworth was voted in by the board as President to serve as of 1 January 2023 with Dr. Ina Colombo-Youla as President-Elect to succeed her in 2024.

Coral Coast, Fiji, 3 November 2022 – National Ozone Officers from the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) met in Fiji for their Network Meeting from 10-12 October 2022 to prepare countries to meet the hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) freeze from 1 January 2024, while sustaining hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) phase-out.  Back-to-back with this meeting was the training workshop of new National Ozone Unit (NOU) staff held from 13 - 14 October 2022. The purpose of this workshop was to strengthen the capacity of NOU staff to implement the Montreal Protocol.

Chiang Mai, Thailand, 6-7 October 2022 ‒ Twenty-one new National Ozone Unit (NOU) staff (female 11, male 10) in the South-Asia (SA) and Southeast Asia (SEA) Networks met on 6-7 October 2022 in Chiang Mai, Thailand to learn how to connect their day-to-day activities with the legacy of the Montreal Protocol.

Chiang Mai, Thailand, 6 October 2022 ‒ National Ozone Officers (NOOs) in the South-Asia (SA) and Southeast Asia (SEA) Networks met from 3-5 October 2022 in Chiang Mai, Thailand to do some forward thinking about the sustainability of Montreal Protocol implementation.

Paris, 28 October 2022 – ASHRAE and UNEP OzonAction are pleased to announce the opening for submissions for the 2022 Lower GWP Refrigeration & Air-Conditioning Innovation Award until the closing date, 31 December 2022.

Nairobi, Kenya, 5 October 2022 – After nearly three years of not meeting physically due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Anglophone, and Francophone National Ozone Officers (NOOs) of the Africa Regional Networks were physically reunited from 3-5 October 2022, in Nairobi, Kenya.

Prague/Cheb, Czech Republic, 23 September 2022 - As part of UNEP OzonAction’s Compliance Assistance Programme under the Montreal Protocol, European and Central Asian countries met in Prague / Cheb to learn from the Czech Republic’s Montreal Protocol experience and to share information on the preparation of HFC phase-down plans under the Kigali Amendment.

16 September 2022, BANGKOK ‒ On the occasion of World Ozone Day (16 September), which commemorates the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, UNEP and its partners are pleased to announce that 36 artists have won the “Asia Pacific Regional Ozone2Climate Art Contest.”  This competition, which took place over a one-year period, is designed to increase public awareness about the importance of the treaty for protecting human health and nature and to generate further support for the Protocol’s compli

MONTREAL PROTOCOL@35 - GLOBAL COOPERATION PROTECTING LIFE ON EARTH Marking International Day, Secretary-General Says Montreal Protocol’s Success Protecting Ozone Layer Powerful Example of Multilateralism in Action

1 August 2022, Chongqing, China ‒ The 11th Ozone2Climate (O2C) Technology Roadshow and Industry Roundtable was jointly organized by the Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China(FECO/MEE) and the China Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry Association (CRAA), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), as part of the 33rd International Exhibition for Refrigeration, Air Conditioning, Heating and Ventilation, Frozen Food Processing, Packaging and Storage (CRH 2022), one

The Asia Pacific Regional Ozone2Climate Art Contest (O2C Art Contest), launched on the World Ozone Day, 16 September 2021 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Asia and the Pacific Office, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the National Ozone Units (NOUs) in Asia Pacific in partnership with Mahidol University, aims to engage the general public, particularly youth to call actions and raise awareness for the protection of ozone layer and mitigation of climate change through a visualization of artwork in three categories- 🎨 drawing, 

Beirut, Lebanon, 15 July 2022 ‒ The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) OzonAction Compliance Assistance Programme (CAP), West Asia Office, in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization  (UNIDO) and the National Ozone Unit (NOU) of the Syrian Arab Republic, organized a successful two-day workshop from 23-24 June 2022 in Beirut, Lebanon, for the manufacturing sector of Refrigeration, Air-Conditioning (RAC) and thermal insulations in Syria on alternative technologies and data verification for the investment components of the HCFC Phase-out Managemen

Amman, Jordan 8 July 2022 – The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) OzonAction Compliance Assistance Programme (CAP) West Asia, met with Jordan’s Government officials and representatives from institutions in Amman, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from 28-30 June 2022, to review the ongoing project

17-19 July 2022, Bangkok, Thailand ‒ After conducting business through computer screens for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ozone Officers of the Asia and Pacific countries were enthusiastic to meet in-person for the first time in Bangkok, Thailand from 17-19 July at the Joint Meeting of the South Asia (SA), Southeast Asia (SEA) and Pacific Island Countries (PIC) Networks of National Ozone Officers.

BANGKOK, 13 July 2022 – UN Environment Programme (UNEP) OzonAction organized a side event on “Women in Cooling – Challenges and Opportunities” on 11 July during the forty-fourth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol.

Paris, 13 June 2022 – The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), OzonAction, and the U-3ARC (Union of Associations of African Actors in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning) agreed to collaborate toward expanding and advancing technological awareness and best servicing practices in Africa’s refrigeration servicing sector.  

The theme for the 2022 International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, to be marked on 16 September, is Montreal Protocol@35: global cooperation protecting life on earth. The theme recognises the wider impact the Montreal Protocol has on climate change and the need to act in collaboration, forge partnerships and develop global cooperation to address climate challenges and protect life on earth for future generations.Theme in the six UN official languages Arabic

Bangkok, Thailand, 16 May 2022 ‒ Forty-seven participants (male 27, female 20) from National Ozone Units (NOUs) and Customs authorities of countries in the Southeast Asia (SEA) Network gathered virtually on 10 May for a thematic meeting on the Adoption and Implementation of ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature 2022 (AHTN2022) for HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons) to enhance monitoring, reporting, verification and enforcement (MRVE) of national HFC licensing systems.    

Bangkok, Thailand, 13 May 2022 ‒ National Ozone Officers (NOOs) from the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) – Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu – as well as representatives from the Government of Australia, the Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturers Association (AREMA) of Australia, and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) OzonAction Compliance Assistance Programme (CAP), came together virtually on 4 May 2022 to address the implementation of the Regional HCFC Phase-out Mana

Bangkok, Thailand, 29 April 2022 ‒ The National Ozone Officers in the South-Asia (SA), Southeast Asia (SEA) and Pacific Islands (PIC) Networks virtually gathered and agreed to have their first in-person Network meeting from 17-19 July 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand, back-to-back with the forty-fourth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (OEWG-44) from 11-16 July 2022 and the Fifth Extraordinary Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (ExMOP5) on 16 July 2022.  

Paris, 12 May 2022 ‒ To celebrate World Refrigeration Day, June 26, UNEP OzonAction, the Secretariat of Word Refrigeration Day (WRD), Chefs4thePlanet, a

The Asia Pacific Regional Ozone2Climate Art Contest - Popular Voting is NOW OPEN until 31 August 2022                                             

Paris, 11 April 2022 – The cooling sector delivers a tremendous number of benefits ranging from public health to food security to productive and comfortable workplaces and homes.

Bangkok, Thailand, 21 March 2022 – The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) OzonAction Compliance Assistance Programme (CAP), Asia and the Pacific Office organized a virtual thematic workshop on the integration of Good Servicing Practices (GSP) into national Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Systems to promote a competency-based certification programme to continue efforts on knowledge and experience sharing among National Ozone Officers’ Networks of South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands Countries