26 March 2012: A press release issued by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) describes a public-private partnership between Indonesia, Japan, and Japanese air conditioner companies helping Indonesia develop an environmentally sustainable and climate-friendly air-conditioning industry.

Indonesia is one of the fastest-growing economies in Southeast Asia and the country has a high and increasing demand for air conditioners. Refrigerants used currently include hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), an ozone depleting substance (ODS) that has a greater global warming potential than carbon dioxide. As a signatory to the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal Protocol), Indonesia has committed to phase out HCFCs and switch to technologies and substances that do not deplete the ozone layer.

To this end, UNDP provided technical advice to the Indonesian Government, acting as a broker to establish a public-private partnership between: Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry; Indonesia’s Ministries of Environment and Industry; and Daikin and Panasonic, two of the largest Japanese air conditioner manufacturers. The partners agreed to introduce, support and promote a new climate-friendly, energy efficient technology, “the first of its kind” to be commercially implemented in the world. Other Japanese air conditioner manufacturers, including Fujitsu General, Hitachi and Toshiba, have now joined the partnership. The new refrigerant technology is expected to result in direct and indirect carbon dioxide emission reductions of over 15 million tons annually starting from 2015.

UNDP is one of the implementing agencies of the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol (MLF) and the lead agency for Indonesia’s HCFC Phase-out Management Plan. [UNDP Press Release]