Indonesia Will Limit The Use Of Cooling Technology To Overcome Ozone Layer Damage

Illustration of the earth's ozone hole reported by NASA grew to close to North America's size. (Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) stated that controlling the consumption of ozone-depleting compounds in the form of hydrofluorocarbon or HFC can increase industrial competitiveness in Indonesia.

"The national industry can increase competitiveness because it competes to create or produce cooling technology that is increasingly environmentally friendly," said Expert Staff to the Minister of Environment and Forestry for International Industry and Trade Novia Widyaningtyas, quoted by ANTARA, Sunday, September 24.

The Indonesian government is targeting restrictions on the use of HFC to help reduce the impact of global warming and protect the ozone layer starting January 1, 2024.

The policy was carried out in stages to all domestic industries using the HFC compound.

Novia revealed that the trend of environmentally friendly products is increasing because consumers have a desire to preserve the Earth.

According to him, Indonesia must participate in this trend by creating products that can support environmental sustainability.

"Our industry can get the opportunity to develop itself into an environmentally friendly industry, especially in the conservation of the ozone layer," said Novia.

"The ability to compete is definitely higher because everyone will go there (more choosing environmentally friendly products). If we just remain silent and don't care, then we will lose, but with this, our industry will definitely be triggered to increase competitiveness into an environmentally friendly industry," he added.

The ozone layer is an atmospheric layer located at an altitude of 20 to 35 kilometers above the Earth's surface that can absorb 97 to 99 percent of the solar ultraviolet light that has the potential to damage life exposed to the earth's surface.

Various ozone layer protections have reduced the impact of ultraviolet B radiation on human health and other living things as well as the environment.

Indonesia has ratified the Kigali Amendment through Presidential Regulation Number 129 of 2022 concerning the Ratification of Amendments to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Zone Layer, Kigali, 2016.

Controlling HFC consumption through the implementation of the Kigali Amendment helps prevent Earth's temperature rise to 0.4 Celsius in 2100 and protect the ozone layer.

"The Montreal protocol is very important for us for the protection of human health, the preservation of ecosystems, as well as the prevention of the impacts of climate change," concluded Novia.