The Ozone Panel, organized for the 23rd time this year by the Directorate of Climate Change in cooperation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), was held in Istanbul on February 28, 2024, with the great interest of the sector. This year the theme of the Ozone Panel was "HFC Alternatives and Energy Efficiency", in recognition of the start of the reduction process of the use of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) as of the beginning of the year.
The 23rd Ozone Panel started with the opening speeches of Mr. Süleyman Yılmaz, UNIDO Country Representative and Director of the Centre for Regional Cooperation in Türkiye ,and Mr. Volkan Polat, the Head of the Department of the Monitoring of Greenhouse Gas Emissions. In his speeches, Mr. Polat stated that the reduction of HFCs, which started with the Kigali Amendment, will also contribute to the Climate Change targets, and drew attention to the importance of the interactions between the Kigali Amendment and national energy efficiency policies. In his speeches, Mr. Yılmaz drew attention to the ongoing cooperation between UNIDO and the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change since the 1990s, and stated UNIDO's support in the phase-down process of HFCs, as well as in the HCFC phase-out process. In his speeches, he also included other projects that UNIDO carries out with the Ministries for environmental issues and sustainable development.
Following the presentations of the Directorate's officials touching on the important dates specified in the Regulation on Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases and the Hydrofluorocarbon Control Certificate process, UNIDO Headquarters representatives who participated in our program from Vienna discussed the projects financed by the Multilateral Fund within the scope of the Kigali Amendment, general conclusions regarding energy efficiency and she informed the participants with her presentations within the scope of Türkiye project portfolio. The program was developed in our country with energy efficiency legislation and project supports, energy performance and green certificate in buildings, refrigerant selection criteria on the basis of energy efficiency, and cooling sector's energy saving potential and operating efficiency with the valuable contributions of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources Department, the General Directorate of Professional Services of our Ministry, TOBB Türkiye Air Conditioning Assembly and SOSİAD officials.
In the last part, the panel moderated by Mr. Polat was held with the participation of speakers. In the discussions held within the framework of HFC alternatives and energy efficiency, the importance of cooperation between the public and private sectors was emphasized. By evaluating the opportunities created by the Kigali Amendment for the sector, it was underlined that financial mechanisms, along with the importance of competent technical personnel in the field, will play an active role in our country's implementation process to the Kigali Amendment.
With the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, our country, like other party countries, has committed to gradually reduce the use of HFCs by 80% by 2045, and continues to increase its contribution to the fight against climate change in line with the Montreal Protocol and the Paris Agreement.
