[ti:Rising Demand for Cooling Systems in Africa Fuels Environmental Concerns]
[al:As It Is]
[ar:VOA]
[dt:2024-07-31]
[by:www.voase.cn]
[00:00.00]Rising demand for cooling systems in Nigeria and other African nations might be making existing pollution problems worse.
[00:13.34]Cooling systems use gases called refrigerants. 
[00:19.33]Such gases can affect the atmosphere if they escape.
[00:24.43]Some of these pollutants have been found to be more harmful than other kinds of greenhouse gases.
[00:34.20]The Nigerian government has approved restrictions on the release of refrigerant gases into the environment. 
[00:43.89]But enforcement efforts for the laws have been difficult.
[00:49.99]Abiodun Ajeigbe leads an air conditioning business for Samsung, West Africa.
[00:58.13]He told The Associated Press (AP), "Those laws, those rules, nobody enforces them."
[01:08.37]Ajeigbe said one of the biggest problems is a lack of effective education and training about the possible harms of refrigerants. 
[01:20.86]This means many cooling system installers might not follow legal requirements when removing old systems or putting new ones in.
[01:34.98]Some trained workers do follow environmental rules governing the use of cooling refrigerants.
[01:43.51]But these kinds of installations cost more.
[01:47.47]Industry experts and public records suggest the most common air conditioning systems in Africa use a kind of gas known by the trade name R-22. 
[02:03.51]This refrigerant is said to be less harmful to the environment than older cooling chemicals known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). 
[02:16.38]CFC's have largely been removed from most modern cooling systems. 
[02:24.00]That change was put in motion by the 1987 Montreal Protocol environmental treaty.
[02:33.43]A document from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says R-22 is considered many times more damaging to the world's climate than carbon dioxide. 
[02:50.07]For example, about one-half kilogram of R-22 is said to equal one ton of carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas.
[03:04.70]However, while carbon dioxide can stay in the atmosphere for more than 200 years, R-22 stays for about 12 years.
[03:16.50]R-22 cooling equipment is not as energy efficient as some other systems.
[03:24.67]And most of the electricity used to power R-22 coolers in Africa requires carbon-based fuels.
[03:35.33]Nigeria is planning to ban R-22 refrigerants by January 1, 2030. 
[03:44.86]But without enough enforcement, that target is not likely to be met, Samsung's Ajeigbe told the AP.
[03:55.20]Some cooling systems use a group of refrigerants called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
[04:04.35]These do not harm the ozone layer and are more energy efficient. 
[04:10.99]But HFCs are said to be strong greenhouse gases and account for an estimated 2 percent of all human-caused warming in the atmosphere.
[04:24.76]One of the most harmful HFCs, called R-410A, is used in the second most common kind of air conditioners in Africa, the AP reported.
[04:40.30]Sellers and installers of cooling equipment in Nigeria told the news agency that although HFC systems are less damaging to the environment, they are more costly to operate.
[04:56.50]The same issues are affecting countries beyond Nigeria. 
[05:01.45]In Ghana, the cooling industry also struggles to get companies and workers to obey current environmental rules.
[05:12.31]Environmental officials in Ghana told the AP that "poor servicing practices" for cooling systems are common across the country.
[05:24.95]This is largely the result of the public choosing lower-trained installers who might not follow recommended standards.
[05:36.02]In Kenya, demand for cooling systems is also growing as the population grows and electricity becomes more widely available. 
[05:47.35]Cooling systems using R-22 are still common across the country.
[05:54.58]But the nation's Environmental Management Authority told the AP there have not been any new imports of the systems since 2021.
[06:07.19]Workers dealing with cooling systems and refrigerants are required to get a license.
[06:15.87]But several installation workers told the AP that since such requirements are hard to enforce, environmentally unsafe methods are carried out.
[06:29.48]I'm Bryan Lynn.