28 July 2009: The UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has signed an agreement with the French Global Environment Facility (FFEM), under which the FFEM will co-finance UNIDO’s African Chiller Replacement Project.

The agreement was signed by UNIDO Director-General Kandeh K. Yumkella and FFEM Secretary-General Marc-Antoine Martin.
The project was launched in 2006, and its aim is to replace chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-based chillers in Cameroon, Egypt, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan, in order to eliminate the use of ozone-depleting substances and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. UNIDO is the main implementing agency of the project.
Surveys conducted in the six-project countries identified a total of 340 chillers that use CFCs as refrigerants. CFCs are ozone-depleting substances that have a high global warming potential, and replacing CFC-based chillers will protect the ozone layer and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, CFC-chillers have high leakage rates and a negative impact on global warming due to their high energy consumption. Their replacement by new more efficient chillers will lead to an indirect reduction of approximately 462,400 tons of carbon dioxide emissions yearly, as well as a direct phase-out of around 80 tons of CFCs required for servicing the chillers annually. The African Chiller Replacement Project is worth €5.3 million. Yumkella highlighted that the project, inter alia, supports the transfer of green technology, the management of CFC stockpiles, and awareness raising. [UNIDO Press Release]