Cold Link Africa September/October 2017 | Page 27

The quarterly HCFC stakeholder meeting took place on 29 June 2017, bringing together role players from across the country to debate the important issues surrounding refrigerants and the phase downs in South Africa.
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
EVENTS

HCFC stakeholders discuss future of refrigerants

By John Ackermann and Ilana Koegelenberg

The quarterly HCFC stakeholder meeting took place on 29 June 2017, bringing together role players from across the country to debate the important issues surrounding refrigerants and the phase downs in South Africa.

The meeting took place at the Department of Environmental Affairs( DEA)’ s head office in Pretoria and was well attended by both industry stakeholders and government officials.

RECLAMATION EQUIPMENT
There was a lot of debate around the ozone depleting substance( ODS) reclamation equipment that has been sourced by United Nations Industrial Development Organisation( UNIDO) and is currently sitting in Europe, waiting to be shipped to South Africa. Four stations have been‘ donated’, but as of yet, we cannot ship them into the country without having the required infrastructure in place.
Attendees deliberated where each of the machines should be set up in terms of geographical location, and a suggestion was made to launch a pilot project first. Some stakeholders were concerned that the equipment would not be used, while others raised the point that health and safety could be a big issue and would need to be investigated thoroughly first. Until then, the equipment remains overseas.
R141B UPDATE
Alan Yeates gave feedback on the R141b project, which has virtually come to an end. There was some discussion around quota allocations now that R141b has been discontinued and whether to revise these to accelerate the phase down of the other HCFCs.
PERMITS
The topic of validity of import permits and allocation was also discussed. Import permits are to be valid for the year in which issued and cannot be carried over from one year to the next. The present system of permits being valid for 12 months from date, has caused complications when reporting to the Parties of the Montreal Protocol to verify compliance with the proposed targets as set in the HCFC Phase-out Management Plan( HPMP) for HCFCs. There was a great deal of confusion, with certain stakeholders seemingly overcomplicating the issue.
TARIFF HEADINGS
The importance of custom tariff headings for all refrigerants, especially all ODSes, were again highlighted, as this plays a key role in the control and monitoring of importations and the allocation of quotas. The International Trade Administration Commission( ITAC) and South African Revenue Services( SARS) were supposed to
HCFC stakeholders discussing the important phase-down issues at the meeting in June.
give feedback, but the matter was moved over to the next meeting. Proper custom tariff headings for all refrigerants are needed to control imports / exports, including headings for precharged systems. But this still hasn’ t been finalised. It has been proposed but not accuracy of the data submitted. Importers A suggestion was made to predefine the who did not comply, would in future not be percentage of R22 in blended given any allocation of quota until the refrigerants and standardising on ODS annual reports have been submitted to the factors to ensure better reporting National Ozone Unit( NOU). on figures.
ACTUAL NUMBERS FOR USAGE HPMP
implemented.
HFCS
The collection of import data of HFCs was once again brought up. South Africa has
Feedback was provided on the 2016 and early 2017 numbers of South Africa’ s imports and exports of HCFCs in the country.
The actual figures( in metric tonnes) given by the DEA are listed in Table 1.
The updated HPMP was supposed to be published at the beginning of 2017 but is still in draft form. The expected date of publication is unknown.
yet to ratify the Montreal Protocol in terms of phasing down HFCs as well, but the collection of import data is a major step in preparation for this inevitable next step. The
From the figures reported, South Africa is ahead of the projected reductions; that is, a 15 % reduction of the baseline( Table 2).
With the current usage of R22 and the
DESTRUCTION FACILITY
There was still no clarity on the destruction facility and whether it is being used.
DEA said the ratification is a lengthy process and they must make sure that it doesn’ t clash with any local and international treaties.
The sentiment is that we should prepare and collect the data. Without the data, it would be difficult to gauge what the
very small percentage of new systems, the indications are that South Africa will be well ahead of the target set in the HPMP. Most of the R22 now being used is for servicing and maintenance. There has been an intensive change to alternative refrigerants i. e. R404A, R507c, and R134a.
EVENTS
The last point on the agenda was the various upcoming events, including the 39th Open Ended Working Group( OEWG) meeting in Bangkok on which DEA would report during the next meeting.
possible impact will be on the economy
and the industry, should South Africa phase
IMPORT
EXPORT
out HFCs.
There is still a concern in terms of
Substance
Direct
Component
Total
Direct
Component
Total
funding, as the US promised funding for a
HCFC-22
2 616.2
57.4
2 673.6
105.3
11.6
116.9
smooth transition in terms of phasing down
HCFC-141b
0.3
0
0.3
0.9
0
1
HFCs at the Kigali meeting. However, since
the change in the political arena, everyone
HCFC-142b
7.3
37.3
44.6
10.6
8.6
19.2
is anticipating challenges on delivering to
Table 1: 2016 / 2017 HCFC consumption in metric tonnes.
the promises made before.
The DEA reported that all regulations for
CONSUMPTION
HFCs have been put on hold until more information on the funding is available. This
Substance
Metric tonnes
ODP tonnes
will be discussed at the next Meeting of the
HCFC-22
2 556.7
140.6185
Parties( MOP) in November in Canada.
HCFC-141b
-0.7
-0.077
SUBMITTING THE DATA
HCFC-142b
25.4
1.651
Also, in terms of HPMP, all importers of
Total consumption
2 581.4
142.1925
HCFCs are to submit a detailed annual report in January, listing all the imports
Table 2: Projected targeted HCFC reductions.
during the previous 12 months.
The figures are to be substantiated by documents and are to be signed by the
CEO of the company to verify the
Baseline( ODP tonnes)
15 % reduction
Used so far
326
277.1
142.1925
Other events such as the Minamata on mercury, World Ozone Day, and the five-week Chemical Summit were also discussed.
CLA

COLD LINK AFRICA • September | October 2017 www. coldlinkafrica. co. za 27