Management and Destruction of ozone depleting and climate-damaging substances in cooling devices

Old cooling devices like refrigerators, air conditioners and foam used to insulate buildings often contain coolants or chemical blowing agents with F-gases. These ‘ODS’ banks generate a high output of climate-damaging emissions. The project supports its partners in establishing procedures for the recovery, collection and disposal of ODS. As a first step, analyses of the framework conditions, the policy instruments and an inventory of the ODS banks are initially carried out. Building on this, the project formulates national roadmaps that include recommendations on policy measures, sustainable financial mechanisms and a recycling and destruction infrastructure. To implement these recommendations, the project supports help-to-self-help activities and workshops with stakeholders. A technology cooperation component also assesses the capacity for the environmentally-friendly management and destruction of ODS banks and supports the cooperation.

Project data

Countries: China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Iran, Tunisia
IKI funding: 9,500,000.00 €
Duration: 11/2013 till 10/2024
Status: open
Implementing organisation: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
Political Partner: Environmental Protection Agency - Ghana

Foreign Economic Cooperation Office (FECO) - China

Ministry of Ecology and Environment - China

Ministry of Environment, Housing and Territorial Development (MinAmbiente) - Colombia

Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) - Ghana
Implementing Partner: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) - Austria
Online: https://www.giz.de/en/worldwide/30797.html

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State of implementation/results

Status-quo analysis of the countries completed
Study tour for Ozone Protection Officers to German and European ODS Banks, management and destruction technologies and policies organised in October 2015
A global study on ODS Banks published on Proklima Website (GIZ): "Management and destruction of existing ozone depleting substances banks"
Guideline on the Manual Dismantling of Refrigerators and Air Conditioners and training material published in English and Spanish in June 2017
Development of guidelines on 1) inventory, 2) collection systems, 3) policy measures and 4) application of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary movements of ODS as well as on manual dismantling of refrigerators and air conditioners finalised and published at the OEWG 39 in Bangkok in July 2017
Methodology for taking ODS inventories presented in the side event "GHG inventories in the RAC&F sectors - opportunities and challenges for accelerated climate action", OEWG in Bangkok in July 2017
Development of Inventories in Colombia, Tunisia, Iran, Ghana and the Dominican Republic and their presentations at workshops with partner institutions and stakeholders including industrial representatives
In September 2017, the ODS Banking Project and the Manual Dismantling guide as well as all other publications of the project were presented at the International Ozone Protection Conference in Bogotá, Colombia
In October 2017 a study trip was organised for partners from Ghana and Colombia to visit the WRF in Geneva, Switzerland, local refrigerator recyclers and authorities
The project short film was published in English and features subtitles in English, French, Spanish and Farsi. The film illustrates the ODS banks problem and was first shown at the WRF in Geneva in October 2017 and at the Conference of the Parties in Montreal (MOP 29) in November 2017
The paper on "Global banks of ozone depleting substances. An estimate on country-level" was published in its own side event at the MOP29.
Project activities and results were presented in 2018 at international regional conferences of the Montreal Protocol (OEWG and NOU LAK network meetings)
Core elements of the ODS Banks Management and the Global Roadmap Tool were presented In a webinar; project partners from Ghana reported on activities and challenges and discussed best practices with the participants.
The national ODS Banks inventory reports were completed in Colombia, Tunisia, Ghana, Iran and the Dominican Republic; short brochures present and disseminate the results
Inventory results from Colombia and Tunisia were presented at the international environmental trade fair (FIMA) in Bogotá, OEWG andof the Latin America NOU network meeting
The report "Global banks of ozone depleting substances: A country-levelestimate" was published in a second edition after a scientific review.
A workshop on inventory and MRV systems in the refrigeration and air conditioning sector was organised from 08.-09.07.2019. The aim of the training was to bring together ozone protection, climate and energy efficiency focal points from selected partner countries and to discuss the development of a sustainable inventory and MRV system in the sector in the context of a NDC strategy.
A study on CFC inventory, emissions and elimination options and ODS banks acticvities in Tunisia was presented during a side event on the Conference of the Parties of the Montral Protocol in Rome in 11/2019.
Two degasing installations were supplied to Colombia, installed and put into operation; 11 technicians of local waste management companies were trained in professional application of degasing installations.
A study on the economical feasibility of recycling facilities for cooling devices in Tunisia was conducted.
The Tunisian National Roadmap for the implementation of ODS banks management was presented and responsibilities and next steps discussed on a strategy workshop in Tunis in 02/2020 with more than 50 participants from both the public and the private sectors.
In October 2020, an online training on Green Cooling strategies including ODS Banks inventories and MRV systems was organised with UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Centre for the Caribbean and other GIZ Proklima projects.
A workshop on regional cooperation possibilities for Halocarbons elimination was conducted with around 50 participants from African countries.
2022: Launch of the Climate and Ozone Protection Alliance (COPA) in a virtual event on 21 July. The global demand for refrigeration and air conditioning continues to grow and with that the stock of appliances, foams and products containing substances with a high global warming potential and/or depletion of the ozone layer. These so called ODS and HFC banks are not being managed in an environmentally sound manner and emit substances (CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs) equivalent to approximately 1.5 Gt CO2 each year. Currently, there are no global agreements in place to address this challenge. COPA will shed light on this blind spot and will mobilize stakeholders to take action.