Cars contribute to climate change — UNIDO PH
Majority of vehicles being used today highly contribute to climate change, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) said Thursday, Sep. 16, as it also warned of its harmful effects.
UNIDO Philippines national project coordinator Bellrose Buraga bared in a virtual briefing that "more than 90 percent" of cars currently running on the road use a cooling system or refrigerants that have a high global warming potential or "GWP value."
This is because most cars are using hydrofluorocarbon or HFC, which, although contribute little to the depletion of the ozone layer, are powerful greenhouse gases with exponential value of carbon equivalents that can contribute to climate change.
But the Philippines can still do something, Buraga said.
"Once the Philippines ratifies the Kigali amendment, soon, the refrigerants being used in mobile aircons will be phased down. It will be removed and it will be replaced with a better one," she said during a press conference held by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and UNIDO.
The Kigali Amendment is an agreement among 197 parties to phase down the production and consumption of HFCs that aims to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases that could prevent up to 0.5 ⁰C of global warming by the end of this century, while continuing to protect the ozone layer.
DENR Usec. Jonas Leones, in his speech, vowed that the government "is serious in its commitment to the global phase-out of ozone-depleting substances, and later to finally mark the phase-down of HFCs once we have ratified the Kigali Amendment."
"The DENR has put together the documents necessary for our country’s ratification of the Kigali Amendment and we have forwarded them to the Department of Foreign Affairs to start the ratification process," he said.
Buraga reminded the public to avoid purchasing equipment that have ozone depleting substances.
"When purchasing aircons or refrigerators, always check the label... You can see there what kind of refrigerants they use," Buraga added, as the DENR said the refrigerating and air conditioning sectors are the top contributors to climate change due to their ODS.