From October 15 to 19, 28 stakeholders from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) participated in a Study Tour in Germany. This experience aimed to raise awareness about the climate impact of hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) and hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigeration practices currently applied in the LAC region, and to analyze cooling solutions of natural refrigerants to help selected countries comply with their HFC mitigation obligations, as outlined in the Montreal Protocol.
The study trip was organized and financed by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the Proklima Program and the Sustainable and Climate-Resilient Elimination of Ozone Depleting Substances (SPODS) project, co-financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union.
Private and governmental stakeholders, national refrigeration and air conditioning associations (RACs), and representatives from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) participated in the trip. Among the places visited were several environmentally friendly cooling solution sites and a vocational training center for refrigeration technicians. Experts and scientific leaders on natural refrigerants presented on the safe use of natural refrigerants and their potential for limiting carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, participants visited the Chillventa fair in Nuremberg, which exhibits refrigeration and air conditioning technology. Over the course of the trip, participants strengthened their network of stakeholders committed to advancing green cooling technology, thereby facilitating the technology’s introduction to the market and encouraging improvements in the capacities of refrigeration technicians. Undoubtedly, this study trip was only the beginning of an active cooperation between GIZ, Proklima and the SPODS project’s stakeholder network to help countries participating in the project significantly reduce their emissions in the RAC sector.
