Thailand Receives Grant to Protect the Ozone Layer and Climate
Thailand signed a US$5 million grant agreement with the World Bank today in support of reducing the import and use of ozone-depleting chemicals by 2023 by more than 60 percent, as part of the country’s obligations under the Montreal Protocol.
Thailand is one of the world’s ten largest importers and consumers of ozone-depleting hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). In 2012, the year before the Montreal Protocol phase-out obligations began, it imported more than 18,000 metric tons. One of the priorities of the government is to introduce environment-friendly production practices in Thailand’s industry, in line with the Montreal Protocol’s goal of shifting away from the use of and manufacturing with these harmful substances.
The grant from the World Bank’s Ozone Projects Trust Fund, financed by the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol, is supporting the second phase of the Thailand HCFC Phase-out Project 2020 to 2023.
“The successful first phase already helped Thailand’s air conditioning manufacturing sector to end the use of HCFCs,” said Viraj Vithoontien, World Bank Lead Environment Specialist, “The second phase will focus assistance on small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in order to produce HCFC-free foam insulation.”
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