Danny Chan
The Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) has highlighted the impact of the Montreal Protocol – and the work of refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) technicians in protecting the ozone layer and the environment.
The Montreal Protocol is an international environmental agreement between 197 countries to phase out refrigerants and other substances that deplete the ozone layer. It provided the impetus for the Australian Government to initiate the ARCTick licence scheme in 2005.
The recently released UN’s Environmental Effects Assessment Panel: Summary update 2020 report found that the Montreal Protocol is not only healing the ozone layer, it is also helping to reduce global warming.
According to the report, the continued control of ozone-depleting substances “will avoid approximately 25 per cent of the global warming that was projected to occur by 2050”.
This finding is consistent with the Australian Government’s State of the Environment Report released in March 2017, which highlighted continued improvements in the ozone layer above the Antarctic as a result of controls on the use of ozone depleting substances.
According to the Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC), the work of ARC-licensed businesses and technicians has contributed to 24.37Mt of CO2-e direct emissions reductions.
“The ARCTick licence scheme will continue to provide significant direct and indirect emissions savings over the next two decades,” says the ARC, “with further direct emissions reductions estimated at 58.02 Mt CO2 projected to 2030*.
“Whatever way you slice it, licensed technicians are making a positive difference to the environment and the world, and that’s something about which we can all be very proud.”
*Expert Group, Assessment of environmental impacts from the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989, April 2015.
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