Minister of Environment, Climate Change, and Technology Aminath Shauna has revealed the government plans to initiate a phase-down of Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) and are in the process of amending the Act on the Protection of the Ozone Layer to take concrete steps towards the end.
At the event to mark the phasing out of HCFC in the Maldives, Minister Shauna said the Maldives has been exemplary in fulfilling the obligations of the Montreal Protocol, which was an international treaty to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of substances responsible for ozone depletion, such as HCFC. Minister Shauna said the Maldives was one of the first countries to phase out CFC two years ahead of schedule back in 2008 and that phasing out HCFC was part of the country's carbon-neutral policy in 2010 to become a carbon-neutral country by 2020.
The minister said the country's goal was to align the dual goals of ozone layer protection and the negative impacts of climate change under the HCFC phase-out management plan. She said the government has implemented policies that enable it to train enforcement officials as well as refrigeration and air condition service technicians to use more environmentally friendly alternatives. She also said the government has been conducting training in the fisheries sector and tourism sector and create awareness and undertake outreach programmes to promote environment-friendly alternatives. She added the Maldives remains committed to doing its part to phase out HCFC by building on its successes of phasing out CFCs in 2008.
Also speaking at the event, Minister of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure Mohamed Aslam noted the global community set a goal of phasing out HCFC by 2030, and that the Maldives no longer commercially imports HCFC as of 2020.