The Executive Committee of the Montreal Protocol at its 38th meeting held in November 2002 approved the Commercial Refrigeration (manufacturing) sector phase-out plan at a total funding level of US$ 3,609,186 to phase-out remaining 535 ODP tonne of CFC-12. UNDP was responsible for implementation of the commercial refrigeration component and United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) was responsible for implementation of the transport refrigeration sub-sector under this sector-plan.
A total of 157 enterprises for commercial refrigeration have phased out 593 MT of CFC-11 and 258 MT of CFC-12 successfully. In transport refrigeration, 39 enterprises have phased out 138 MT of CFC-12.
Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning 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 1950s. On the upstream side, there were only two manufacturers exclusively for hermetic compressors apart from some appliance manufacturers who also had the dedicated facilities for manufacturing facilities for hermetic compressors. However, there were several manufacturers of open-type compressors. Many other components of refrigeration systems are also manufactured in the country.
ODS Consumption in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Sector: In 1991, the total ODS consumption in the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning sector in India was 1,990 MT. This constituted about 39% of India’s total consumption of CFCs. About two-thirds of this consumption was estimated to be used in servicing of existing equipment. The growth rate in this sector was forecasted at 10-20% annually until 2010. The Refrigeration & Air Conditioning sectors were therefore identified as a priority sector in India for initiating phase-out activities.