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India’s commitment to Ozone safety and Montreal protocol

In 1973, scientists Sherwood Roland and Mario Molina discovered and established
that man-made chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) had the potential to
deplete the ozone layer in the stratosphere of the earth. The ozone layer acts as a
protective barrier for the earth from ultra-violet radiation. The international
community, recognizing the harmful effects of increased ultra-violet radiation on
terrestrial life and ecosystems, adopted the Vienna Convention in 1985, calling for
additional research and information exchange on ozone depletion. Subsequent
negotiations led to the signing of the Montreal Protocol on 16 September 1987,
which identified substances that deplete the ozone layer and called for scheduled
reductions in their production and consumption.

India became a party to the Vienna Convention on 19 June 1991 and acceded to the
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer on 17 September
1992.
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Sector
The refrigeration and air conditioning sector, along with industrial chillers segment is
now poised to implement the action plan for a phase out of the Ozone depleting
substances (ODS).
Industry Structure
The Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Sector in India has a long history from the
early years of last century. Major investments in establishing manufacturing
capacities started in the 1950s. On the upstream side, there are two manufacturers
of hermetic compressors and several manufacturers of open-type compressors. Many
of the other components of refrigeration systems are manufactured in-country. Other
specialized components like controls are mainly imported.

The major applications within the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Sector, which
used ODS-based technology and identified in the original Country Programme, were:
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Sub-sector Application Industry structure

Domestic Household Eight major domestic refrigerator

Refrigeration Refrigerators manufacturers were identified of which, four
and Freezers had captive manufacturing capacities for
hermetic compressors. The total installed
capacity was estimated at 5 million units
annually, with an average capacity utilization
of less than 50%.

Refrigerated Annual production was estimated at around

cabinets 40,000 units comprising of chest freezers,
display cabinets, bottle coolers and visi-
coolers. Over 80% of the production is by an
estimated 300 SMEs.
Commercial Water coolers Annual production was estimated at around
Refrigeration 27,000 units. Five main manufacturers
accounted for over 90% of this production
and the remaining in SMEs.
Ice-candy A product somewhat unique to India and
machines widely used in ice-cream/beverage industry.
The annual production was estimated at
about 2,500 units almost entirely
manufactured by SMEs
Walk-in Two manufacturers were identified in the
coolers organized sector and several manufacturers
in the SME/informal sector. Annual
production was estimated at 500 units
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Cold Storages The estimated population of cold storages

was 14,000. Most cold storages are site-
assembled and annually about 1,000 -2,000
Industrial are installed. Most cold storages are based
Refrigeration on ammonia technology and some on CFC-
12/502
Process The estimated annual production was 300,
Chillers mainly for chemicals, pharmaceuticals and
food industries and made by SMEs. Most
systems are low-temperature using
ammonia however some systems using CFC-
12 are made
Transport Perishable Three manufacturers of refrigeration
Refrigeration transport systems for truck/vans in the organized
sector were identified. Annual production
was estimated at 500-1,000 units mostly
CFC-based

Sub-sector Application Industry structure

Chillers Annually about 3,800 central air conditioning
chillers were installed, most of which were
based on HCFC-22 technology and about 20-
50 were centrifugal chillers based on CFC-
11/12 technology. Four major organized
Air enterprises and several SMEs were involved.
Conditioning Automotive air Three manufacturers produced about 40,000
conditioning car air conditioning systems annually. An
equal number was imported. Most of these
were based on CFC-12 technology
Bus and train Annually about 100-500 units were
air manufactured by four main manufacturers in
conditioning the organized sector mostly using CFC-12
technology
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Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Sector

The actual ODS consumption in the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Sector
including the ODS consumption in manufacturing and servicing of equipment, for
selected years from 1991 until 2004, in comparison with the unconstrained demand
projections from the original Country Programme, is shown in Table-14 below:
Table-14: ODS Consumption in the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Sector (1991-
2004)

Parameter/Year 1991 1996 2000 2004

Unconstrained demand 1,990 3,780 6,330 10,313
Actual Consumption 1,990 2,818 2,717 1,828
Note: The ODS Consumption in the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Sector
excludes the ODS consumption in foam production in the Refrigeration
and Air Conditioning Sector. This has been reported under the Foam
Sector.

The progressive reductions in ODS consumption in the Refrigeration and Air

Conditioning Sector (in the manufacturing of new equipment) were achieved
through completion of various investment projects, technical assistance and
training activities, funded by the Multilateral Fund.

Figure-11 below shows the ODS consumption pattern in the Refrigeration and
Air Conditioning Sector in India (including manufacturing and servicing) from
1993 until 2004 as reported by Government of India to the Multilateral Fund:

Figure-11: ODS Consumption in the Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Sector (1993 –
2004)

3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
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As of July 2002, a total of 47 investment and technical assistance projects were

approved, with a total funding of about US$ 22.3 million, leading to a total
phase-out of 1,821 ODP MT.

In November 2002, a multi-year performance-based Sector Phase-out Plan

covering the Refrigeration (Manufacturing) Sector was approved with a total
funding of about US$ 3.6 million to phase-out the residual ODS consumption of
about 535 ODP MT by end-2006. Additionally, in 2004, a multi-year performance-
based Sector Phase-out Plan covering the Refrigeration (Servicing) Sector was
approved with a total funding of about US$ 6.34 million to phase out the
remaining eligible consumption of about 847 MT by end- 2009. The sector-level
ODS phase-out activities are summarized in Table-15 below:

Table-15: ODS Phase-out Activities in the Refrigeration & Air Conditioning

Sector

Activity Number of Funding Phase-out

Projects (US$) (MT)
Investment projects 47 22,307,517 1,821
Sector Phase-out Plan 1 3,609,186 535
(Mfg)
Sector Phase-out Plan 1 6,338,120 847
(Svcg)
Total 49 32,254,823 3,203

As of December 2004, all of the approved investment projects in this sector

were completed. The Refrigeration Manufacturing and Servicing Sector Phase-
out Plans are well on their way to achieve their respective targeted
completion dates.

FUTURE PRIORITIES
Government of India has identified the following areas of activities under the
Montreal Protocol as priorities for the future:
Monitoring implementation of ongoing ODS phase-out activities
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Three main national/sector-level ODS phase-out activities, governed by multi-year

performance-based agreements are currently under implementation:
NCCOPP (National CFC consumption phase-out Plan)
This project combines the CFC phase-out activities in the Foams, Refrigeration
(Manufacturing) and Refrigeration (Servicing) Sector, into a single agreement. The
agreed annual phase-out targets under the NCCOPP are as below:

Year 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

ODS Phase-out 1,675 854 496 147 145 173 0
(ODP)

Intensive monitoring of the investment, technical assistance, training and capacity

building components would be needed to ensure that India complies with the agreed
phase-out targets. Appropriate institutional arrangements are in place to address the
additional obligations such as performance verification and reporting.