Jamaica has successfully phased out the use of a key ozone-depleting substance that was being used in the foam manufacturing industry.

Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) were being used by SEAL Sprayed Solutions Limited to make spray-in-place insulation that controls moisture and temperature within buildings. The climate-friendly and ozone-friendly alternative, methyl formate, is now being used in the manufacturing process.

Most HCFCs have a high global warming potential. Eliminating their use therefore contributes significantly to climate change mitigation, and it was therefore part of the first stage of Jamaica’s HCFC Phase Out Management Plan Implementation Project which is being undertaken in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

That project aims to freeze importation of HCFCs at 2009 and 2010 average import levels (baseline consumption) as at January 2013; reduce baseline consumption by 10 per cent as at January 2015; and phase out the use of HCFCs in foam manufacturing. This is in keeping with the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.