Philippines finally bans CFCs beginning in 2010 -DENR

Two decades after it signed an international treaty banning the use of environmentally unsafe chemicals, the Philippines will finally halt the importation of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) starting January 2010. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) secretary Jose Atienza Jr. said that CFCs will no longer be allowed into the country in accordance with the National CFC Phase-out Plan as well as the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer -an international treaty signed by the Philippines in 1988.

Studies show that CFCs, used in various industries as a refrigerant, propellant, solvent or cleaning agent, can destroy ozone molecules in the atmosphere and deplete the ozone layer, ultimately contributing to global warming. CFCs are commonly used in air conditioners and refrigerators. Included in the list of banned CFCs are CFC 11, CFC 12, CFC 13, CFC 113, CFC 114, CFC 115 and R-502. Customs measures "already in place" “The move of the Department to ban the entry of CFCs into the country starting next year is our commitment to the global effort to control the emission of ozone depleting substances and enable our damaged ozone layer to heal," Atienza said in an article on the DENR website. Atienza said that the Bureau of Customs (BOC) will help the DENR in the strict enforcement of the ban to avert any attempt to smuggle the banned chemicals into the country. “The Bureau of Customs is with us in this campaign, and I am happy to announce that measures are already in place to prevent unauthorized entry of the banned chemicals into the country," he said. Patronize accredited service shops, public told Atienza has also encouraged the general public to shift to ozone-friendly refrigerants and to only go to accredited service shops. “I am appealing to the public to patronize only the service shops that are accredited by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as well as the technicians who are certified by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) for the servicing needs of their refrigerators and air conditioners," he said. With the import ban, Atienza is urging all refrigerant dealers to purchase ozone-friendly replacement products only from registered importers. For their part, manufacturers of air conditioners and refrigerators have gradually been shifting to environment-friendly refrigerants on their own initiative. A leading manufacturer of air conditioners and refrigerators now uses R134A in its refrigerators. R134A is a commercially available hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant with an Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) rating of 0. The ODP is the measure of damage a chemical compound can cause the ozone layer. Montreal Protocol fully ratified Last September, on its 22nd anniversary, the Montreal Protocol achieved full ratification by all 196 countries, including the Philippines. The Philippines signed the Montreal Protocol on September 14, 1988. The ratification of the Protocol by the Philippine Senate on March 21, 1991 and the subsequent Montreal and Beijing amendments in 2006 paved the way towards establishing a CFC-free Philippines. The National CFC Phase-out Plan Project of the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau, which acts as the national coordinator for the implementation of the CFC phase-out, said the country’s CFC importation and consumption has dipped to 169 metric tons last year, from 3,382 metric tons in 1995. The Philippines has been gradually reducing its importation and consumption of CFCs since 2000 in preparation for the complete phase-out next year. - Nikka Corsino/TJD, GMANews.TV