11th September 2018 The CEO for MEIDECC Mr. Paula Ma’u opened a one-day workshop on the Kigali Amendment for district and town officers, this morning at Basilica Conference Room.
Hosted by the National Ozone Unit under the Department of Climate Change of MEIDECC, the training aims to develop district and town officers’ knowledge on the Kigali Amendment.
Mr Ma’u said Tonga is vulnerable to the climate change impacts but in order to ensure that the future generations are being protected and to demonstrate Tonga’s commitment to saving the earth, everyone must join hands to “determine the best way to adopt alternatives that will not exacerbate the phenomenon of global warming, to the extent possible.”
He said in Tonga, hydrofluorocarbons or HFCs are being used in the servicing sectors of refrigerators, room air- conditioners and mobile air – conditioners. In the future, Tonga is obliged to reduce import and use of HFCs in these applications as per the obligations under the protocol.
“The Kigali Amendment can provide opportunity to introduce more energy-efficient equipment into the country, which can benefit users and country energy security.”
Mr. Ma’u stressed the need for all concerned stakeholders to work together to address challenges by strengthening Tonga’s servicing sector to phase down HFCs in a safe and sustain manner.
He told participants that their role is very important for the people in their villages.
“Your own understanding of what is going on and what will be presented today, will help the people that you look after in your communities and district to understand it too.”
The Kigali Amendment is an amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The Amendment will enter into force on 1 January 2019, provided that it is ratified by at least 20 parties to the Montreal Protocol.
The Montreal Protocol is the first and only global environmental treaties to achieve universal ratification with 197 Parties by December 2014. Tonga acceded to the Montreal Protocol since July 1998.
ENDS
Issued by the Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communications