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Dear National Ozone Officers, On behalf of UN Environment (UNEP) OzonAction, I would like to express our deep appreciation to your country for its continued high-level commitment to implement the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, including during very challenging times such as what the world is now facing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The raid is not like other police raids. No flashing lights and no breaking down doors. There is no cache of weapons to seize. But on a planetary scale, what the police came to confiscate is no less dangerous. On the outskirts of Vientiane, Lao Environment Police enter a nondescript shop selling refrigerators, rice cookers and other appliances, flanked by officials from the Pollution Control Department and the Department of Domestic Trade. They have been tipped off that the shop is likely selling smuggled refrigerants.

The following stories from France, The Gambia, Georgia and Germany are extracts from the booklet 'Women in the Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry."

The Informal Prior informed consent system (iPIC) has been completely overhauled and updated OzonAction is delighted to release the latest updated and streamlined version of the online Informal Prior-Informed Consent (iPIC) platform. Responding to comments and feedback we have changed how the system looks and operates.

The following stories from Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Fiji are extracts from the booklet 'Women in the Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry."

This meeting has been organized by the Regional Montreal Protocol Network for Europe and Central Asia (ECA network) of UNEP Law Division's OzonAction Programme in cooperation with Ministry of Environmental Protection of Serbia, the national HVAC&R Association SMEITS / KGH and UNDP Serbia.

The following three stories from Colombia are extracts from the booklet 'Women in the Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry."

6 January 2020, Muscat  ̶  Refrigeration and air conditioning is at the heart of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

Thimphu, December 2019  ̶   Under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the technicians who work in refrigeration and air conditioning play a major role because they handle the refrigerant gases that are controlled under that international environmental agreement.

30 December 2019, Muscat  ̶  Illegal trade in substances controlled by the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, such as hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), undermines national commitments under this international environmental agreement. It also violates national laws, deprives the government of rightful income, and supports other forms of illegal activity. Customs officials worldwide, including those in Oman, are highly committed to protecting their borders by fighting this illicit chemical trade.

Bangkok, 24 December 2019   ̶  How well Ozone Officers and their teams do in their work – developing projects, managing national strategies, reporting data, developing and enforcing policies, working with national and international institutions – directly or indirectly affects the status of their country's compliance with its obligations under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

In late November and mid-December 2019, both the Maldives and Sri Lanka, in cooperation with UNEP OzonAction and the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigerating Institute (AHRI), advanced the Refrigerant Driving License (RDL) program by conducting technicians training sessions under the pilot stage of the RDL program targeting 31 local technicians who were trained and tested against RDL minimum requirements of competencies and skills.

The following six stories from China are extracts from the booklet 'Women in the Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry."

Torugart, Kyrgyzstan, 11 December 2019  The first X-ray equipment for trucks has been installed at the Torugart checkpoint in the Naryn province of Kyrgyzstan which is connected through the Torugart mountain pass with the Xinjiang region of China. It is one of the highest mountain roads of the country at an elevation of 3,752 meter above sea level and located in the Tian Shan mountains. The trade volume between China and Kyrgyzstan is estimated to be at least USD 2 billion per year.

The following five stories from China are extracts from the booklet 'Women in the Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry."

22 November 2019, Kampala, Uganda  ̶  Today saw the close of a three-day twinning workshop and border dialogues for National Ozone Officers and Customs officials from countries of the East African Region – Africa Anglophone Network.

OzonAction Scoop number 5  on The Montreal Protocol and the Sustainable Development Goals explores how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognize that improving human health and well-being, including ending poverty and stimulating economic growth for all, must go hand-in-hand with protecting the environment on which we all depend.

The following stories from Bulgaria and Canada are extracts from the booklet 'Women in the Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry." VIOLETA IVANOVA (BULGARIA) I was born, and have always lived and worked, in Sofia, the capital city of a beautiful country called Bulgaria.

Rome, Italy, 8 November 2019 – Through organizing six technical sessions and signing five memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with key global refrigeration and air-conditioning associations, UNEP OzonAction is fostering ties with key industry stakeholders and experts from the HVAC&R community.

Ashgabat, 30 September - 2 October 2019 - The Government of Turkmenistan hosted a series of meetings and a full-day stakeholder consultation with high-level Government representatives and experts, during the 3-day visit of Mr. Gilbert Bankobeza, Senior Legal Officer of the Ozone Secretariat in Nairobi, and Mr. Halvart Koeppen, Coordinator of the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Montreal Protocol Network of UNEP OzonAction in Paris.

ATLANTA, Nov. 6, 2019 – ASHRAE and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) have announced the project selections for the 2019 ASHRAE-UNEP OzonAction Lower-GWP Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Innovation Awards. The annual international award program promotes innovative design, research and practice by recognizing people who have developed or implemented innovative technological concepts applied in developing countries to promote lower global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants through refrigeration and air-conditioning applications.

The following stories from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana and Brazil are extracts from the booklet 'Women in the Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry." GORDON TICA, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA I was born in Banja Luka on March 31, 1964, where I completed elementary school and high school. I entered the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Thermotechnics and Motorization in 19n3. I graduated in April 1989.

 Nomination form in EnglishФорма номинации на русском языке

The following storiesy from Bangladesh, Barbados, and Bolivia are extracts from the booklet 'Women in the Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry."

The following stories from five women in Australia are extracts from the booklet 'Women in the Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Industry."1. ROXI AND WENDY KENNY While Wendy says she fell into the industry by chance, Roxi believes that the RAC industry chose her.