Must read: evidence and guidelines against dumping of inefficient cooling equipment in developing countries

In October 2024, the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD) published a resource guide on preventing the dumping of inefficient cooling equipment in vulnerable developing countries ^[1].

 

The authors of the guide define the environmental dumping of refrigeration equipment as:

• Marketing in developing countries of technology that cannot legally be sold in the exporting country because it fails to meet environmental, safety, energy efficiency, or other product standards; and
• Marketing in developing countries of technology that is unusable in the exporting country because national regulations or Montreal Protocol phaseout and phasedown control schedules have made these refrigerants unavailable.

It was previously reported that in Africa, 47% of the air conditioning market contained R22, an HCFC banned in the EU since 2015 ^[2]. In South-East Asia, 74% of air conditioners sold do not meet minimum threshold according to China’s MEPS ^[3].

 

Dumping of inefficient cooling equipment hinders developing nations’ efforts to meet their responsibilities under the Montreal Protocol and their climate obligations. During the 35th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (MOP-35) held in October 2023, the Decision requested that the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund consider allocating funds to assist Article 5 Parties in developing and enforcing policies and measures to prevent future non-compliance caused by the importing of prohibited cooling equipment ^[4].

 

The IGSD Resource Guide reviews international and country-led initiatives highlighting the importance of preventing dumping and enabling vulnerable developing countries to gain access to life- and planet-saving next-generation cooling technology.

 

The authors reviewed relevant decisions of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund Executive Committee. The guide also catalogues technical reports, workshop proceedings, and research papers contributing to understanding environmental dumping practices.

 

The resource guide is available for download on FRIDOC as well as on the IGSD website.

 

 

Sources

[1] IGSD Resource Guide on Preventing the Dumping of Inefficient Cooling Equipment Using Obsolete Refrigerants in Vulnerable Developing-Country Markets. https://www.igsd.org/new-igsd-resource-guide-on-preventing-the-dumping-of-inefficient-cooling-equipment-using-obsolete-refrigerants-in-vulnerable-developing-country-markets/

[2] Inefficient R22 air conditioners dumped in Africa. https://iifiir.org/en/news/inefficient-r22-air-conditioners-dumped-in-africa

[3] South-East market dominated by low efficiency ACs. https://iifiir.org/en/news/south-east-market-dominated-by-low-efficiency-acs

[4] MOP35: aid funds against dumping of inefficient cooling equipment. https://iifiir.org/en/news/mop35-aid-funds-against-dumping-of-inefficient-cooling-equipment