Elimination of ODS and how the country has done so far
Swaziland has been robust in its fight against the consumption of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) to meet the Montreal Protocol targets. The country is aimed at achieving a total phase out of ODS by 2030 which will be achieved in a step staged approach. The first stage was the baseline freeze which was achieved in 2013, secondly, the 10% and thirdly the 35 % reductions in 2015 and 2020 respectively.
About 64 metric tonnes of refrigerants were consumed in Swaziland in pre 2009. During this year most of the refrigerants (80%) were consumed by the commercial and industrial sector, followed by the domestic sector which took up about 18 percent, and the least user was mobile air conditioning with about 2 percent.
The country has been lucky to achieve even more than the targeted reductions in a short space of time. This has been achieved quickly through the conversion of the Palfridge factory from using ODS (R141b) to a natural refrigerant, cyclopentane. The major consumer of ODS in the country had been the Palfridge factory (commercial and industrial sector) which consumed 69000 kgs of ODS per year before phasing it out to use natural refrigerants. This means there will be a 50% reduction of ODS in the country.