World Refrigeration Day
June 27, 2019
The Ministry of Agriculture joined the many actors and stakeholders around the world that supported and celebrated World Refrigeration Day (WRD) yesterday, a newly established annual celebration of the refrigeration and air conditioning sector’s unsung contributions to societal goals – including environmental protection. The term ‘refrigeration’ is used in this context, as “the process of achieving and maintaining a required temperature below that of its surroundings”. Refrigeration is indispensible to modern society and all sectors. Critical uses of refrigeration include the preservation and distribution of perishable food products and medical supplies. Refrigeration systems are also used extensively for providing thermal comfort to human beings by means of air-conditioning.
The first celebration took place yesterday, 26 June and hereafter on the same day each year. The Ministry of Agriculture recognises the extremely important role that cooling technologies and those who work in this industry play in Guyana’s economy, particularly related to our agricultural sector and in ensuring the continued success of the implementation of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer programme in Guyana.
World Refrigeration Day, 2019 is being observed under the theme “Refrigerants for Life”. During the first half of the 20th Century, following advancements in chemistry and mechanical engineering, fluorinated refrigerants were invented. Prior to this, non-fluorinated refrigerants, such as carbon dioxide or ammonia or hydrocarbons, were predominantly used, albeit, primarily in non-residential or non-industry applications. Over the last three decades, the world realized that fluorinated refrigerants, though efficient, are contributing negatively to global warming and ozone depletion and threatening life on the planet at longer terms. Consequently, industry and governments took decisive actions to find alternatives and to control the emissions of refrigerants while maintaining the pace of human development and our way of life.
Through the Montreal Protocol, countries, including Guyana, have successfully combatted the depletion of ozone layer through phasing out the ozone depleting substances (ODSs) including ozone depleting refrigerants as well as phasing down the higher-GWP refrigerants as required through the Kigali Amendment to Montreal Protocol.
Even as we continue to take steps to encourage ecologically friendly and efficient technologies and practices within this rapidly expanding sector, the Ministry recognises the persons working in this industry and wishes all a happy World Refrigeration Day as we move forward in our pursuit of development and a sustainable future for all.
National Ozone Action Unit
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