Ministry of Environment secretary of state Pak Sokharavuth from March 13-17 attended meetings of senior officials in charge of implementing the Montreal Protocol in Southeast Asia, including a “green customs” workshop on reporting and managing trade in ozone-depleting substances (ODS), in Vietnam’s Halong city.

The meeting discussed the adoption of energy-saving and low global warming potential (GWP) devices as part of the implementation of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, the ministry said in a March 18 statement.

Participants urged holdout countries to ratify the amendment to receive financial and technical assistance in the phasedown of climate-damaging hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) and planning thereof, it said.

Plans to replace the refrigerant 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (R-134a) with the ozone-friendly 2,3,3,3-Tetrafluoropropene (R-1234yf), similar initiatives, and participating countries’ experiences in relevant areas were also discussed, it added.

Participants also asked the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol to review pending requests for financial and technical assistance to meet ODS objectives, according to the statement.