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I. INTRODUCTION Environmental dumping of new and used appliances inflicts economic, social, and environmental costs on vulnerable populations in Ghana and the rest of Africa. These new and used appliances [...], Environmentally harmful product dumping ("environmental dumping") of new and used low-efficiency cooling appliances with obsolete ozone-depleting and greenhouse gas refrigerants in African countries impoverishes communities, hinders economic development, threatens ecological systems, and harms public health. The use of low-efficiency cooling appliances increases energy demand, leading to higher power plant emissions and limiting affordable energy access in African countries. These low-efficiency appliances and products contain ozone-depleting refrigerants with high global-warming potential (GWP) or ozone-safe refrigerants with high GWP. Environmental dumping of these appliances and products makes it more difficult for countries to meet their international climate obligations and for the world to meet the Paris Agreement's climate change mitigation targets. Ghana faces high levels of environmental dumping, despite a national ban on importing used cooling appliances and established efficiency standards for new air conditioners and refrigerators. Through the Energy Commission's Office of Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, & Climate Change (REEECC), the government of Ghana is partnering with the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD) to stop environmental dumping. This article provides a list of interventions that can be implemented by Ghana, by governments in countries that export to Ghana, and by industry and other stakeholders. Notably, these actions focus on the shared responsibility of exporting countries and manufacturers by calling on exporting countries to update and enhance enforcement of their laws, and on global manufacturers to stop exporting inefficient products with obsolete refrigerants to Ghana and other African countries.

By phasing out production and consumption of most ozone-depleting substances (ODSs), the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal Protocol) has avoided consequences of increased ultraviolet (UV) radiation and will restore stratospheric ozone to pre-1980 conditions by mid-century, assuming compliance with the phaseout. However, several studies have documented an unexpected increase in emissions and suggested unreported production of trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11) and potentially other ODSs after 2012 despite production phaseouts under the Montreal Protocol. Furthermore, because most ODSs are powerful greenhouse gases (GHGs), there are significant climate protection benefits in collecting and destroying the substantial quantities of historically allowed production of chemicals under the Montreal Protocol that are contained in existing equipment and products and referred to as ODS "banks". This technical note presents a framework for considering offsets to ozone depletion, climate forcing, and other environmental impacts arising from occurrences of unexpected emissions and unreported production of Montreal Protocol controlled substances, as recently experienced and likely to be experienced again. We also show how this methodology could be applied to the destruction of banks of controlled ODSs and GHGs or to halon or other production allowed under a Montreal Protocol Essential Use Exemption or Critical Use Exemption. Further, we roughly estimate the magnitude of offset each type of action could provide for ozone depletion, climate, and other environmental impacts that Montreal Protocol Parties agree warrant remedial action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By phasing out production and consumption of most ozone depleting substances (ODSs), the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal Protocol) has avoided consequences of increased ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and it will restore stratospheric ozone to pre-1980 conditions by mid-century, assuming compliance with the phaseout. However, several studies have documented an unexpected increase in emissions and unreported production of trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11) and other ODSs that occurred after 2012 despite production phaseouts under the Montreal Protocol. Furthermore, because most ODSs are powerful greenhouse gases there are significant climate protection benefits in collecting and destroying the substantial quantities of historically allowed products under the Montreal Protocol that are contained in existing equipment and products and referred to as ODS "banks". Here we present a framework for considering offsets to ozone depletion, climate forcing, and other environmental impacts arising from this or other occurrences of unexpected emissions and unreported production of Montreal Protocol controlled substances. We also show how this methodology could be applied to the destruction of banks of controlled ODSs and GHGs, or to halon or other production allowed under a Montreal Protocol Essential Use Exemption or emergency exemption. Further, we explore a range of potential actions that could offset the ozone depletion, climate, and other environmental impacts arising from instances of unexpected emissions or unreported production should Montreal Protocol Parties agree require remedial action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The US military continues to fortify its commitment to environmental protection. It has teamed up with industry to develop substitute chemicals and processes that eliminate the need for halons, chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting substances. It has even collaborated with militaries from developing countries and independent states of the Soviet Union to develop environmentally friendly technologies and solutions to global environmental problems. Large organizations would do well to emulate the new environmental mission of the US military.

Experiences, group dynamics, hazards curriculum, and logistics of a canoe trip of the Mississippi River are discussed. (RE)

Love your neighbor as yourself, but don't take down your fence. Carl Sandberg Environmental dumping is a practice historically associated with the export of hazardous product waste from a developed country for irresponsible and often illegal disposal in a developing country. Now, with the industrialization and globalization of China and other developing countries, environmental dumping can involve both developing and developed countries as origin and destination. This dumping can be especially harmful to attempts to control under the Montreal Protocol ozone-depleting and climate-forcing chemical substances and/or products requiring unnecessarily high energy consumption. While developing country Parties to the Montreal Protocol are allowed to delay their phasedown of climate-forcing and ozone-depleting hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) during a multi-year grace period, there are advantages to earlier implementation when superior alternatives are already available at reasonable costs, as is the case for many uses of HFCs today. Thus, developing countries can benefit under the Protocol from setting controls for environmental dumping. This article aims to give policymakers, especially those in developing countries, a legal and policy "toolkit" that can be used to stop unwanted environmental dumping. It includes an examination of the history of environmental dumping, illustration of such dumping in practice, a detailed explanation and examination of the legal and policy tools, and a summary of the consequences of environmental dumping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]