The Ministry of Land and Environment (MTA) is calling on all those involved in the chain of import, inspection and commercialisation of refrigeration equipment to work in a coordinated manner to implement decree 26/2024, with a view to protecting the environment, public health and saving the national economy.
Decree 26/2024 aims to control the production, export, import, transit, trade and consumption of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and refrigeration and air conditioning equipment in Mozambique.
‘All sectors of the Mozambican state must work together to implement decree 26/2024, recently approved by the Mozambican government with a view to regulating the import of refrigeration equipment,’ said the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Land and Environment (MTA), Emília Fumo.
The permanent secretary was speaking on the occasion of a training seminar for customs officers on inspection of the import of refrigeration and cold equipment held last week in Maputo province, southern Mozambique.
According to the source, the Mozambican government will ban the entry of refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners and other equipment that work with gases that are harmful and dangerous to the ozone layer, particularly R22 gas, with effect from 2025.
For this reason, the source said, there is every need to equip people working in this field with technical skills in order to avoid unpleasant situations for national health and the economy.
‘The ozone layer is often destroyed by greenhouse gases and autogases that we have in our equipment.
That’s why the import of equipment that uses these gases, which are hydrochlorofluorocarbons, will be banned,’ said the source, adding that R22 gas has a compressor that carries mineral oil, a non-biodegradable chemical substance that, when disposed of inappropriately in soil and water, is an attack on public health.
For his part, Leonardo Sulila, the focal point for the implementation of the Montreal Protocol, said that as of January 2025, R22 can only be imported exclusively for scientific research, military, defence and security, and health purposes.
At the moment, the country is using refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners that work with R134a, R404A, R406A, R407c, R408A and R410A, which are considered to be destructive gases and harmful to climate change, but which will be banned by 2045 under the United Nations framework convention, Sulila said in a statement to AIM.
With the destruction of the ozone layer, ultraviolet rays fall directly on the earth, becoming responsible for human damage such as skin cancer, eye damage, cataracts, premature ageing, dehydration, vulnerability to infectious diseases, deep sunburn, weakening of the immune system, among others.
In the plant kingdom, according to Sulila, the consequences include reduced harvests in some crops, a reduction in fish species, a decrease in forest productivity and the destruction of marine food chains.
As an alternative, according to Sulila, the government will only allow the import of refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners that work with R290 and R744 gases.
The industrial sector will use R717 gas, which is considered climate-friendly.
It should be noted that Mozambique has 68 companies licensed to import gases for refrigeration and air conditioning equipment and, in recent years, around 400,000 freezers, more than 500,000 refrigerators and more than 100,000 air conditioners have been imported into Mozambique.
AIM
