Havana, Cuba.- The report on the consumption of alternatives to ozone-depleting substances (ODS) in Cuba is of great importance to preserve this shield that protects the planet, said a Cuban specialist today.

‘This report tackles the way Cuba handles ODS, particularly hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), such as 134A, a gas included in domestic refrigerators (Haier),’ said Armando Gomez, an expert from the Cuban Ozone Technical Office (OTOZ).

‘The report also provides information on the alternatives to ODS, especially related to HFCs and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) (refrigerants containing hydrogen, fluorine and carbon), while forecasting the consumption by sectors and sub-sectors.

Gomez told the media that the software made by the company Citmatel and OTOZ for the collection of the data was very useful for the research.

The research was carried out along with the United Nations Development Program-Cuba, the Agency of Nuclear Energy and Advanced Technology, the Center for Information Management and Energy Development, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, OTOZ and institutions collaborating with the project.

Currently, Cuba is implementing a program seeking to eliminate (HCFCs).

Cuba has also joined the project to implement the Kigali amendment of the Montreal Protocol, signed in 2016, to eliminate (HFCs), used in refrigerators and air conditioners, considered very harmful to the environment.

Cuba has encouraging results as the country already eliminated the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), methyl chloroform, carbon tetrachloride and methyl bromide in the fumigation of warehouses and the dusting of growing as tobacco, coffee, ornamental plants, flowers, tomato and others.

Cuba signed the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (1985) and the Montreal Protocol, related to the control and gradual elimination of production and consumption of ODS.