ODS Destruction Carbon Credits

The EPA Works to Finalize its Allocation and Production Rights for HCFC-22 for 2012-2014

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

There has been much recent discussion regarding the market for HCFC-22 in 2012, as the EPA works to finalize its allocation and production rights for 2012-2014. Here are some basic facts HARDI wanted to communicate to our membership.

1.) There is an ongoing EPA rulemaking concerning the allocation of refrigerants, including R-22 for 2012-2014. The EPA has suggested a reduction of allocation rights of R-22 between 11% and 47% in each year (2012-2014), in addition to the annual 10% reduction each of those years set by the 2009 Allocation Rule. EPA’s proposed reduction was not unexpected, and is supported by some industry stakeholders.

2.) Since the current rule is not final, it is illegal for a company with 2011 allocation rights to produce or imports HCFCs into the United States until receipt of a “non-enforcement” letter from EPA which was expected by many companies to arrive the first week of January; however this letter was delayed until Friday, January 20. Thereby, 15 work days had passed where no refrigerant production or importation occurred.

3.) In this “non-enforcement” letter, EPA stated that production and importation should be limited to approximately 17% of a company's 2011 baseline until the rulemaking is complete. If, when the rulemaking is completed, the final reduction is less than 17% of the 2011 baseline, a company will be allowed to increase production and importation to their allocated limits. HARDI does not expect this rulemaking to be completed by the beginning of summer.

4.) From 2005-2010 (2011 data is not yet available), only 77% of Consumption Allowances for HCFC-22 were used. These figures along with comment from stakeholders to the EPA, regarding the oversupply of R-22 in the marketplace and concerns of stockpiling, have led EPA to consider a more aggressive phasedown.

5.) In 2011, EPA sought comment from the Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy, of which HARDI and all major refrigerant producers are members, regarding a suggestion for a more aggressive reduction in R-22. The Alliance formally submitted a suggestion for a 20% reduction in Consumption Allowances.

HARDI’s Refrigerants & Refrigeration Council is currently accepting member comments on what the annual reduction should be in this rule.

Eco-friendly car refrigerant 'turns into deadly gas it vehicle catches fire'

2012-01-19T06:12:00.000-08:00

By Henry Samuel, Paris

7:34PM GMT 17 Jan 2012

A new "eco-friendly" car refrigerant expected to become the industry standard turns into a deadly gas if the vehicle housing it catches fire and should be shelved, it has been claimed.

The coolant for car mobile air conditioning systems, called HFO-1234yf, has been approved for use in the US, Japan and Europe and Toyota and Suburu have started fitting their cars with the substance.

It was chosen as it is produces 98 per cent less climate damaging that its predecessor, R134a.

However, a German expert on the compound has warned that it is should be scrapped as it is much more flammable than the current coolant and when heated above 500C (932F) releases hydrogen fluoride, a highly toxic gas. Temperatures in car fires can easily reach twice that heat.

"You have 600g of this cooling agent per car, which if it burned completely would produce 200g of hydrogen fluoride at a level of concentration that is very high. For a human just one gram is deadly – either inhaled in gas form, through the skin or when dissolved in water," warned Prof Andreas Kornath, an inorganic chemistry professor at Munich University who has been studying the substance for 20 years.

The odourless gas has no instant effect but once inside the body a person dies within a day or so in terrible pain due to internal burns and muscle failure.

"This product should not be on the market. There is a real risk every time a car catches fire, which happens 30,000 times per year in Germany alone," he told the Daily Telegraph.

Prof Kornath issued his warning at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Honeywell, which produces the product, has refuted the claims.

"The risk of HF formation is not higher than with R134a – and this refrigerant has been used for decades without any recorded incident," said Honeywell's Sabine Chmielewski.

SAE International Cooperative Research Program, which comprises leading automakers, found HFO-1234yf to offer "superior environmental performance" to CO2 while having "the lowest risk for use in mobile air conditioning systems in meeting environmental and consumer needs."

But Prof Kornath alleged the product had been mainly approved on the basis of tests compiled by the chemical makers, not the findings of independent research.

BAM, Germany's Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, for instance, had warned of the risks of using it, he said.

He recommended using carbon dioxide as a coolant, as the fire risks and toxic hazards were nil.
Toyota confirmed it would start using the new refrigerant in new models starting this year.
The car maker’s spokesman Jean-Yves Jault said: “We think the new refrigerant is as safe, yet much more environmentally friendly, as the previous one. This was confirmed by the SAE CRP investigation whose outcome we support.”

"We undertook flammability tests and risk assessment with an independent third party institute, and the results confirmed the safety of the new refrigerant.”

He said that that the phenomenon of hydrogen fluoride gas is “not new", and that concentration of fluorine atoms was “actually much higher” in the historic refrigerant, R134a.

California, Quebec plan joint emissions allowance sale

2012-01-16T06:55:00.000-08:00

13 Jan 2012 14:27 GMT

Portland, 13 January (Argus) — The Canadian province of Quebec will join California in selling emissions allowances at the first Western Climate Initiative (WCI) allowance auction on 15 August.

The remaining members of the WCI held a stakeholder meeting in San Francisco yesterday in which they announced their commitment to the program. Quebec and California are the only partners of the initiative that have approved regulations to participate in the WCI's regional, multi-sector cap-and-trade system, which is due to begin in January 2013.

The WCI, a partnership of Canadian provinces British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec and the state of California, aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 15pc below 2005 levels by 2020 through a carbon trading scheme.

Six US states dropped out of the initiative last year to join an offshoot of the regional climate group that does not have a GHG cap-and-trade program. That group, known as North America 2050, aims to reduce GHG emission through carbon sequestration, sustainable biomass and the development of carbon offset projects.

The WCI partners plan to release recommendations for a final offset system this month. Tim Lesiuk, chairman of the WCI's offsets subcommittee, said the initiative aims to come up with a common set of offset protocols that can be adopted across different member jurisdictions. Each member has the choice to adopt all or some of the protocols.

“We would like to see four to five offset protocols this year,” Lesiuk said.

Quebec plans to adopt offset regulation in spring or summer this year, said Robert Noel de Tilly, senior policy advisor in the climate change office for Quebec's ministry of environment.

California has adopted four offset protocols, all based largely on voluntary protocols developed by the non-profit Climate Action Reserve. The state has adopted final offset protocols for US forestry and urban forestry projects and projects that destroy ozone depleting substances and capture and destroy livestock methane.

Quebec has not released details of how many allowances it plans to sell at WCI's August auction. The province's cap-and-trade regulation directs its environment minister to make public 60 days before an auction the number and vintage of allowances that it will offer.

Jean-Yves Benoit, treasurer economist in the climate change office at Quebec's environment ministry, told Argus the number of allowances the province will auction will not be released until this summer.

A potential sticking point to Quebec's participation is the requirement that California submit a rulemaking amendment to the state Air Resources Board that would allow Quebec to link with California's cap-and-trade program. This rulemaking has to take place before Quebec can take part in the auction.

Michael Gibbs, deputy secretary for climate change at the Air Resources Board, said it will be a “challenge” to complete this rulemaking in time for the August compliance auction.

It is unclear when the other Canadian provinces will have regulations in place to participate in cap-and-trade. Lesiuk of British Columbia said the province is finishing a carbon price analysis of cap-and-trade and did not comment further on when it would be ready to trade allowances.

Manitoba still does not have regulations in place to participate in the cap-and-trade program, though it is considering legislation, said Neil Cunningham, director of climate change for Manitoba.

Plans to link other regional carbon trading schemes, such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, with WCI appear to be off the table. Pat Cummins, WCI's project manager with the Western Governors' Association, said a North America 2050 working group that was working on linking emissions trading programs was not active.

He also said the group's offset working group, which is focused on the development and implementation of offsets that can be used in emissions trading programs, is looking at voluntary rather than compliance offsets.

Send comments to feedback@argusmedia.com

Summary of Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol

2012-01-03T09:38:00.000-08:00

Halt on gas import

2012-01-03T09:17:00.000-08:00

Samisoni Nabilivalu
Friday, December 23, 2011

THE Department of Environment has revealed that a batch of Refrigerant 134A (R134A) sold locally is actually not 100 per-cent R134A.

The imported refrigerant is used in the car air conditioning systems and commercial and domestic refrigeration.

According to the packaging, the cylinder contains R134A but tests conducted by Seru Ramakita, an Ozone Depleting Substances Inspector with Department of Environment, have proven otherwise.

Mr Ramakita made the discovery by accident earlier this year when demonstrating the use of a refrigerant identifier to customs officers at a workshop in Lautoka.

"The R134A I used for the demonstration was not 100 per cent," he said.

"It was cross contaminated with chlorofluorocarbon and hydro chlorofluorocarbons.

"I kept the discovery to myself because it was a big issue.

"I needed more evidence before we could make any moves and I was hoping one of the companies would bring it up as well."

Lincoln Refrigeration Limited director Praveen Singh was the first to approach Mr Ramakita after the processors for some of their fridges kept burning out.

Mr Singh said he suspected the R134A was inferior and Mr Ramakita confirmed his suspicions after he tested the gas.

"We also supply gas and we've never had this problem before.

"We had a shortage of gas, so we bought the R134A from another supplier," Mr Singh said.

Mr Ramakita confirmed all importers, wholesalers, and retailers of the product had been instructed to halt imports and remove the refrigerant from their shelves as investigations continue.

He said many businesses would have suffered unnecessarily if the product had continued to be used.

Mr Ramakita would not identify the manufacturer or local supplier of the product.

Dangerous R-134a Contamination Found Worldwide

2011-12-21T12:18:00.000-08:00

December 21, 2011
|
By aftermarketNews staff

EXTON, Pa. – Neutronics, a provider of gas analysis and gas handling technologies, yesterday issued a warning distributed by the Mobile Air Conditioning Society, advising that all industries using R-134a refrigerant immediately test all cylinders thought to be virgin R-134a (including new 30 pound cylinders) due to reports of widespread contamination.

Several months ago, Neutronics' Refrigerant Analysis Division was engaged by the ocean-going shipping industry to assist with a R-134a refrigerant contamination problem that reportedly resulted in several deaths and a significant interruption to ocean-going transport. During the course of this activity, Neutronics reports that it was discovered that this dangerous refrigerant contamination problem was not isolated to a single industry but had potentially penetrated the R-134a refrigerant supply for applications in many global markets, including automotive.

Much of the contaminated R-134a refrigerant has been shown to contain significant quantities of R-40 (aka Methyl Chloride or Chloromethane). R-40 is extremely toxic, flammable and highly reactive when exposed to aluminum in that it forms a third, highly volatile compound. Neutronics points out that it is critical to note the safety concerns with R-40. It is a harmful and dangerous material that is not suited for use in R-134a refrigeration air conditioning systems. Most, if not all of the contaminated R-134a has been found in counterfeit labeled "virgin" R-134a cylinders. In one instance, Neutronics says it was reported that "thousands" of 30 lb. R-134a refrigerant cylinders have been found to be counterfeits of name-brand product. Other suspect virgin R-134a containers have also been found to contain large quantities of R-22 and R-12 refrigerants.

Neutronics says it has evaluated the performance of both current and legacy refrigerant identifiers to determine their suitability for use in testing cylinders with the suspect R-40 material. To date, all reported cases of "virgin" cylinder contamination have included at least 30 percent to -40 percent R-40 in the cylinder.

No current or previous Neutronics R-134a identifier is/was designed for detection of R40 as a direct contaminant. Not all Neutronics refrigerant identifiers are suitable for safely detecting the presence of R-40 in R-134a (e.g. the "Mini ID R-134a" identifier is not suitable for R-40 detection).

A new reference chart published by Neutronics Refrigerant Analysis is now available on the Neutronics website that details the various Neutronics Identifiers currently in the field and how they should react when exposed to R-40 refrigerant. Interested parties should visit www.refrigerantid.com for more information. This information will be readily available on the home page.

As refrigerant identification equipment is widely used in the automotive service industry, Neutronics has determined that its "DX" model automotive refrigerant identifier that meets SAE J1771 requirements can be used for testing "virgin" R134a cylinders to determine the possible presence of the R-40 contaminant.

Neutronics Vice President Peter Coll commented, "As far as R-134a contaminants are concerned, R-40 is about as bad as it can get. Neutronics Refrigerant Analysis will continue to work closely with SAE, AHR and all other pertinent organizations to help mitigate this very troublesome development."

For additional information, contact Neutronics toll-free at 800-378-2287.

Québec Adopts Regulation Establishing the Cap-and-Trade System for Greenhouse Gas Emission Allowances

2011-12-19T11:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Québec's Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks, Pierre Arcand announced the adoption of the Regulation respecting the cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emission allowances, which is based on the rules established by the Western Climate Initiative (WCI).

"Cap-and-trade systems for emission allowances are recognized as one of the most effective and least costly economic tools for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. By adopting this regulation, Québec acquires the means to achieve the transition toward a green, sustainable and prosperous economy", declared Minister Arcand.

Québec thus officially steps to the starting line, next to California. The first year of implementation of the system will be a transition year. It will begin on January 1, 2012 and will allow emitters and participants to familiarize themselves with how the system works. Over the course of the year, emitters will also be able to make any adjustments that may be necessary to meet their obligations under the system for capping and reducing GHG emissions, which will come into force on January 1, 2013.

Industrial establishments subject to the system are those that emit 25 000 tonnes or more of CO2 equivalent per year. Note however that starting in 2015, companies that import or distribute in Québec fuels that are used in the transportation and building sectors (and whose combustion generates an amount of GHGs greater than or equal to 25 000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year) will also be subject to the capping and reduction of their emissions.

For all participating members of the WCI, the adoption of a regulation establishing a cap-and-trade system for GHG emission allowances is the first of two main steps toward the emergence of a regional North American carbon market. The second step will consist of concluding a series of recognition agreements, between the different partners, to link their systems together.

"The results of the international conference on climate change at Durban show clearly that regional initiatives like the WCI play a key role in efforts to reduce GHG emissions worldwide. Québec is one of the leaders in the fight against climate change, and that is something to be proud of," concluded the Minister.

More information, including links to the text of the regulation, is available on the website of the Ministère at:

http://www.mddep.gouv.qc.ca/changements/carbone/Systeme-plafonnement-droits-GES-en.htm

VERs: the Preferred Carbon Offset Instrument for Communicating Voluntary Action

2011-12-19T10:54:00.000-08:00

Posted December 16, 2011

Even with the recent fall in CER prices, our Strategic Development Manager Oliver Crouch doesn’t expect voluntary buyers to switch from VERs. He explains how their high standards, innovative use of technologies, and societal benefits make them the instrument of choice for many buyers.
Over the years, a number of our clients that first used compliance-grade offsets, namely Certified Emission Reductions (CERs), as part of their carbon management strategies have switched to voluntary offsets, or Verified Emission Reductions (VERs). VERs have become the instrument of choice for achieving voluntary emission reduction goals. This preference is reflected in the wider market as evidenced by the reducing share of CERs within the over the counter voluntary market.

Despite the recent fall in CER prices and what that might suggest for the competitiveness of VERs, we don’t expect the trend of voluntary buyers sourcing VERs to reverse. As corporate carbon management programmes evolve they increasingly look to their offset portfolio to deliver social, environmental and economic benefits beyond the core GHG reduction requirement of carbon finance. VER standards offer a level of variety and responsiveness that is best placed to meet these evolving needs. More specifically, VERs continue to be our clients’ offset instrument of choice for the following reasons:

VER standards generate high quality instruments that are real, measurable and additional

VER standards like the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and Gold Standard often use well established Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) methodologies as the basis for quantifying project baselines and emission reductions. They follow similar quality assurance processes for verification and validation as the CDM and use the same independent third party verifying organisations, or DOEs. Indeed a significant proportion of projects generating VERs are aspiring CDM projects, and once registered with the CDM Executive Board will generate CERs.

To inspire consumer confidence in the quality of VERs as financial instruments, infrastructure providers have developed robust credit-accounting registries that bring clarity of ownership and transparency to the VER market. Registries utilise serial numbers as an accounting tool to track credit issuance through to proof of retirement.

VER standards are a driver of methodology and technology innovation

The governance structure of VER standards allows them to be more responsive to market needs, meaning they typically lead innovation in terms of project types and project tools. For example, the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) introduced the buffer mechanism for forestry and land use projects to account for non-permanence risk. In 2010 the VCS approved the first reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) methodology.

VER standards also have pioneered methodologies for innovative project types, including community bicycle sharing programs, water purification programs, and the destruction of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS). VER standards have been the first to adopt more innovative and streamlined procedures, particularly in relation to additionality. The Climate Action Registry (CAR), for example, only credits projects that meet a particular technology requirement or benchmark instead of evaluating projects on a case-by-case basis. Such an approach is seen as key to rapidly scaling carbon finance.

VER standards are a driver of social and ecosystem benefit quantification

The demand for projects that go over and above emission reductions comes from voluntary buyers of offsets. Different VER standards have evolved specialist focuses, and have found ways of collaborating to meet the evolving needs of the marketplace.

For example, the Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) Standard does not quantify carbon reductions, but is often combined with VCS projects to certify a forest project’s additional social and environmental contributions. The Gold Standard was designed by NGOs to raise the bar with regard to local stakeholder engagement.

Similarly the Social Carbon Standard has been developed specifically to certify emission reduction projects for their contributions to sustainable development. This is achieved by continuous assessment of the changes in key social indicators such as employment and health and safety conditions, with a focus on improvements over time.

VER standards promote the inclusion of small-scale projects.

Demand for offsets varies, not only by type and location, but also by project size. Corporate buyers often favour smaller scale projects as they have the potential to source all of the projects credits and feel a greater level of ownership.

Project development costs for VER standards tend to be lower than the CDM, due to more streamlined processes, making carbon finance accessible to smaller scale projects. The Gold Standard’s Community-focused Micro-scale Scheme (CFMS) has streamlined its procedures, resulting in lower costs which help project developers to overcome cost barriers.

Project grouping tools like the VCS ‘Grouped Project’ guidelines allow aggregation of similar projects under a single registered programme. The aim is to reduce costs for household-level activities like efficient cook stoves, solar water heaters and biogas to overcome the small-scale threshold and become economically viable

VERs offer greater price stability and range

CER prices are determined by the market price within the EU-ETS, meaning they are subject to its supply and demand dynamics, and directly linked to political forces in play. In contrast, VER prices have remained more stable over recent years. VER prices are influenced by the attributes of the underlying project technology, location and contribution to social benefits. Accordingly, VER prices span a wide range, allowing buyers to identify projects appropriate for their budgets. More stable prices and a wider range of prices means greater price certainty and flexibility for offset inclusive carbon management programmes built around VERs.

As members of ICROA (International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance), The CarbonNeutral Company works with standards that meet the highest quality requirements. These quality standards, combined with the track record of innovation and breadth of project types with access to VER finance, provides the voluntary buyer with choice.

VERs offer the flexibility to design a carbon portfolio that meets specific requirements for price, charisma and communication value. VERs have consequently become the instrument of choice for action ahead of and beyond compliance. While some early buyers favoured CERs for the quality of a compliance grade instrument, they now place confidence in the quality VER standards. In 2012, CERs will continue as an instrument of compliance under Kyoto and the EU-ETS. It is unlikely, however, that CERs will regain a meaningful share of the voluntary carbon market.

Save The Date - Women in HVACR will host a FREE Educational Session at AHR EXPO

2011-12-01T07:22:00.000-08:00

What We Are Thankful For.....

2011-11-21T12:57:00.001-08:00

RemTec International is thankful for our employees going above and beyond this year when it comes to those in need. We are proud to share this letter with you to show our gratitude to our family here at RemTec for being so generous even in this down economy.

International golfers for Pan Gulf event

2011-10-10T07:23:00.001-07:00

OVER 100 golfers from around the world will be taking part in the Pan Gulf Golf Day at Awali Golf Club on October 14.

The event, which is being held in cooperation with Pan Gulf Industrial Systems, will consist of two competitions.

The first, teeing off in the early morning, will be a strokeplay tournament comprising more than 100 entrants. It will also act as a KPAO (Kingsbury, Pinhey, Ayto, O'Sullivan) qualifier, the final of which will be held at Awali Golf Club in April next year.

The other is an invitational Stableford competition. Scheduled to tee off at around midway, around 20 invited golfers from the US, Australia, Bahrain and the rest of the GCC will be in the fray.
Both tournaments will be played over 18 holes along Awali Golf Club's sand course.
Amateurs
The players taking part are all amateurs. They will be vying for attractive cash prizes in each competition, with additional awards for the day's various side competitions also to be given out, such as a Harley Davidson motorbike for the first player to sink a hole-in-one.

"The main aim of our Pan Gulf Golf Day is for everyone to have a good time out on the golf course and to make some money for charity," event organiser Martin Allison told the GDN yesterday.

Part of the event's proceeds will be donated to the Think Pink charity.

Following the day's play, there will be live music featuring the Gruesome Twosome band and a dinner.

The Pan Gulf Golf Day's main sponsors are Remtec and Chemetron; while other sponsors are Notifier, Autronica, Stahl, Nalco, DNH Speakers and ATP.

Arctic ozone loss at record level

2011-10-03T06:35:00.001-07:00

By Richard BlackEnvironment correspondent, BBC News

Ozone loss over the Arctic this year was so severe that for the first time it could be called an "ozone hole" like the Antarctic one, scientists report.

About 20km (13 miles) above the ground, 80% of the ozone was lost, they say.

The cause was an unusually long spell of cold weather at altitude. In cold conditions, the chlorine chemicals that destroy ozone are at their most active.

It is currently impossible to predict if such losses will occur again, the team writes in the journal

Nature.

Early data on the scale of Arctic ozone destruction were released in April, but the Nature paper is the first that has fully analysed the data.

"Winter in the Arctic stratosphere is highly variable - some are warm, some are cold," said Michelle Santee from Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

"But over the last few decades, the winters that are cold have been getting colder.

“Start Quote

Why [all this] occurred will take years of detailed study”

Michelle SanteeJPL

"So given that trend and the high variability, we'd anticipate that we'll have other cold ones, and if that happens while chlorine levels are high, we'd anticipate that we'd have severe ozone loss."

Ozone-destroying chemicals originate in substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that came into use late last century in appliances including refrigerators and fire extinguishers.

Their destructive effects were first documented in the Antarctic, which now sees severe ozone depletion in each of its winters.

Their use was progressively restricted and then eliminated by the 1987 Montreal Protocol and its successors.

The ozone layer blocks ultraviolet-B rays from the Sun, which can cause skin cancer and other medical conditions.

Longer, not colder

Winter temperatures in the Arctic stratosphere do not generally fall as low as at the southern end of the world.

Ozone destruction takes place within polar stratospheric clouds, with chlorine the main culprit

No records for low temperature were set this year, but the air remained at its coldest for an unusually long period of time, and covered an unusually large area.

In addition, the polar vortex was stronger than usual. Here, winds circulate around the edge of the Arctic region, somewhat isolating it from the main world weather systems.

"Why [all this] occurred will take years of detailed study," said Dr Santee.

"It was continuously cold from December through April, and that has never happened before in the Arctic in the instrumental record."

The size and position of the ozone hole changed over time, as the vortex moved northwards or southwards over different regions.

Some monitoring stations in northern Europe and Russia recorded enhanced levels of ultraviolet-B penetration, though it is not clear that this posed any risk to human health.

While the Arctic was setting records, the Antarctic ozone hole is relatively stable from year to year.

This year has seen ozone-depleting conditions extending a little later into the southern hemisphere spring than usual - again, as a result of unusual weather conditions.

Chlorine compounds persist for decades in the upper atmosphere, meaning that it will probably be mid-century before the ozone layer is restored to its pre-industrial health.

September 11, 2001

2011-09-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

We will always remember those that were lost on this day and those that have since lost their life protecting our freedom and rights.

Proud To Be American!

Have a Safe and Happy Independence Weekend!!

2011-07-01T07:23:00.000-07:00

RemTec is available over the Holiday weekend for Emergency Recharges. 1-800-372-1301

Sustainability in Fire Protection Conference

2011-06-15T13:43:00.000-07:00

For Complete Brochure Click Here!

Happy Earth Day From RemTec International!

2011-04-22T09:56:00.001-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T05:22:00.000-07:00

2011 AHR Expo

2011-02-07T12:27:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all who stopped by our Booth during the 2011 AHR Expo. This year’s show was a huge success and we look forward to working with you all in 2011. Thank you for your interest and continued business

AHR EXPO Las Vegas

2011-01-14T06:58:00.000-08:00

RemTec International invites you to visit ourBooth# (N5722)at the 2011 AHR EXPO in Las Vegas January 31- Feb 2

Hope to see you there!

Tim Kearney, Ron Marcus, Dr. Wayne & Patti Ellingson

MACS 2011 Conference

2011-01-14T06:47:00.000-08:00

RemTec International invites you to visit our Booth# 432 at the 2011 MACS - Mobile Air Conditioning Society Conference January 27 - 29
Hope To See You There!
Tim Kearney & Gary Stofan

Happy Holidays from RemTec International

2010-12-21T07:58:00.000-08:00

All The Best To You, Your Family and Your Organization

2010-12-20T09:58:00.000-08:00

Wishing you health and happiness this Holiday Season and properity in the New Year. We value our customer relationshipsand thank you for being our customer. We look forward to continuing our partnership in the coming year.

Happy Holidays from RemTec International

2010-12-09T05:43:00.001-08:00

FIFA - Federation International de Football Association

2010-12-03T05:36:00.000-08:00

FIFA has announced the countries awarded the 2018 and 2022 bids to be Russia in 2018 and Qatar 2010.

Why is this on the ODS Destruction of Carbon Credits? Well... One of the reasons that Qatar won the bid was because they are introducing a CARBON-NEUTRAL cooling system in a new state of the art stadium. This will reduce the risk of players collapsing from heat exhaustion and even keep the fans comfortable. That time of the year in Qatar, the temperatures are around 110 degree.

Qatar 2022 Chairman His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani said: "Today's unveiling of our state-of-the-art football stadia and innovative cooling technology is the latest step in our quest to bring the FIFA World Cup to the Middle East for the very first time in 2022. A FIFA World Cup in Qatar will leave a powerful and lasting legacy, bringing together nations and cultures through our shared passion for football.

"These plans show just how serious, innovative and focussed we are about hosting a FIFA World Cup that will deliver a fantastic experience for players, fans and the media.

Our stadiums will have zero carbon cooling equipment utilising solar technology to ensure the temperature is no higher than 27 degrees Celsius, ensuring optimum playing conditions and a comfortable environment for fans. This same environmentally friendly, carbon-neutral technology will ensure training sites, fan fest and fan zones are also cool and comfortable. What we have unveiled today is a world first, and as part of Qatar's commitment to delivering an historic legacy we will share this groundbreaking technology with the rest of the world."

Maybe this will encourage other people around the world to Go Green!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-23T11:15:00.000-08:00

RemTec International would like to wish you and your entire staff a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving.

Happy Veteran's Day

2010-11-11T04:55:00.000-08:00

RemTec International honors those who are serving and who have served our country to maintain our freedom! Thank you!

The Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy 30th Anniversary

2010-09-24T12:45:00.001-07:00

Richard Marcus will be attending the 30th Anniversary of The Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy as a Board Member on Monday, September 27th.

This event is being held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.

Richard Marcus, RemTec International - Round Table & Presenter at the Green Labeling Symposium

2010-09-17T05:56:00.000-07:00

Richard M. Marcus is President of the world's largest and most comprehensive privately owned halocarbon-recycling corporation. Richard has managed several multi-lateral Halon banking projects globally including the People's Republic of China, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan and the Ukraine. Richard works extensively with the Montreal Protocol Technical Committees as an expert on reclamation and destruction of halocarbons.

RemTec International Announces the Expansion of their Halon and Refrigerant Reclamation Services to the Middle East Region

2010-09-15T06:36:00.000-07:00

BOWLING GREEN, OH, USA – (Business Wire) - In conjunction with Pan Gulf Industrial Systems, RemTec International has announced it will commence Halon reclamation and banking operations in the Middle East as of November 2010. This halocarbon reclamation facility will be the first of its kind in the region. Located on the second Dammam industrial city, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it will also provide services throughout the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe.

The newly constructed 30,000 square foot facility is part of a three-phase program to contain and manage Class I and II Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) and other halocarbons. The initial phase will provide Halon reclamation and banking capabilities on a regional basis to petrochemical companies and other end users. The second phase will expand these services to include reclamation and banking of all ODS including Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) refrigerants, and in addition Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) that are high in Global Warming Potential (GWP). The third phase will install advanced systems that safely destroy all of these substances and other environmentally-hazardous wastes using patented Plasma Arc Destruction Technology.

Richard Marcus, President and CEO stated, “We are proud to team with Pan Gulf Industrial Systems to provide these services to the Middle East and the surrounding regions. This halocarbon reclamation facility will be state of the art with the latest, most advanced equipment for the reclamation and management of Halons and refrigerants that are either ozone depleters or high in global warming potential. It is designed to be operated in a fail safe environment using highly automated systems that are continuously monitored both on site and at our headquarters in Bowling Green, Ohio.”

The facility will be equipped with a full laboratory that will be capable of testing to a number of standards including ASTM-D5632-08, ISO 7201-2:1991 or Military Specification B-8741 (USAF). Refrigerant testing to the AHRI Standard 700-2006 will also be developed as later project phases are added. Ultimately, the laboratory will provide convenient and accurate testing of Halons and refrigerants throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe. Richard Marcus further stated, “This facility, with its investment in advanced technologies and its central location, is ideally suited to provide testing and reclamation services for commercial and military clients throughout the Middle East region and beyond.”

Finally, as ODS are phased out, it will be important that these materials are handled properly, particularly at the end of their useful lives. This is a concern to many countries in the region as well as to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the World Bank. For this reason, this project was selected to be part of a case study by the World Bank, to examine methods to manage and destroy ODS as they are phased out. Using Plascon Plasma Arc Destruction Technology, ODS will be destroyed with an extremely high Destruction Removal Efficiency (DRE) of 99.9999%. Mr. Marcus concluded his remarks by stating, “A high DRE is achieved with de minimis emissions to the atmosphere and a safe, salt water solution as the only effluent. In conjunction with our alliance partner, DoloMatrix in Australia, RemTec is able to provide these environmental solutions in a safe and environmentally-friendly manner, in areas of the world that normally lack this advanced technology. In addition, Plascon also has the potential to destroy chlorophenols, chlorinated phenoxywaste, concentrated PCB, Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and chlorinated solvents, which are present in the Middle East and surrounding regions.”

ABOUT REMTEC INTERNATIONAL

Established in 1986, RemTec International is a world leader in the recovery, reclamation and destruction of Halons and Refrigerants. RemTec’s Halocarbon Management Program uses patented technologies which avoid emissions that either destroy the ozone layer or add to global warming potential. RemTec's unique approach facilitates safe disposal of unwanted Halons, CFCs, HCFCs and HFCs on a worldwide basis. These hazardous substances are recovered, reclaimed and in some cases destroyed, in accordance with all domestic and international regulatory standards. For more information, please visit www.remtec.net or e-mail info@remtec.net.

ODS Projects Enter the Carbon Market: A Near-Term Solution to Climate Change

2010-08-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

Article provided by: http://www.triplepundit.com/2010/08/ods-ozone-depleting-substances-carbon-market/

By Jill Abelson & Joe Madden

Last October, on the eve of the Copenhagen talks, Richard Levangie pointed out that climate change isn’t only about carbon dioxide. Doing more to reduce non-CO2 climate change contributors, Levangie reported, “might head global warming off at the pass,” citing Nobel Laureate Dr. Mario Molina and co-authors of a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Calls for near-term action on non-CO2 greenhouse pollutants as a way to slow down climate change have steadily increased since then.

Non CO2 gases typically refer to hydroflurocarbons (HFCs), methane, tropospheric ozone – which are in the Kyoto “basket” of gases, and black carbon. All of these gases are extremely good at absorbing infrared radiation, but can be reduced with readily available technologies or substitutes.

Overlooked until now in the climate change policy discussion is another entire class of non-CO2 greenhouse gases — chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other ozone depleting substances, collectively called ODS. ODS not only destroy the earth’s ozone later, as their name suggests, they are also extremely powerful greenhouse gases — some up to 10,000 times more potent than CO2 pound-for-pound.

Government, industry and environmental groups considered these gases fully controlled under the Montreal Protocol, but that is only partially true as I’ll discuss below. A global effort is now underway to create market-based incentives to prevent large scale emissions of these chemicals.
Background on ODS
Ozone depleting substances (ODS) — including CFC11, CFC12, Halon 1211 and HCFC 22 — have been used in a variety of important applications, including aerosols, refrigeration, air conditioning, insulation foam, solvent cleaning, and fire suppression. The Montreal Protocol, ratified by 195 countries, established legally binding controls on national production of ODS. The Protocol is widely considered an environmental success story: it has succeeded in cutting back production of ODS by 97% from historic baseline levels. Concentrations of CFCs and halons in the stratosphere are showing signs of stabilization, and the ozone layer is expected to recover sometime around 2065.

A New Crossroads: ODS and Climate Change
Despite this success, large quantities of CFCs produced prior to phase-out deadlines remain in use in older equipment and infrastructure, e.g., refrigerators, air conditioners, building chillers, supermarket systems, food warehouses and food processing plants, refineries, building insulation, and fire suppression systems. As a result there is continued demand for reclaimed ODS to replenish old, and often leaky, equipment. A 2005 report by the IPCC and Montreal Protocol Technology and Economic Assessment (TEAP) Panel estimated that global ODS banks, not yet emitted into the atmosphere, represented the equivalent of 21.1 billion tons of CO2 in 2002, approximately 18 billion tons of CO2eq today. This unreleased gas is equivalent to 3 times the total annual GHG emissions of the U.S. Taken together, these emissions would effectively cancel out all of the GHG reductions achieved under Kyoto’s first commitment period.
A large portion of these ODS banks are being rapidly released. According to the IPCC/TEAP Report, left unaddressed, by 2015 more than 6 billion tons of CO2eq will be emitted as CFC and HCFC refrigerants leak or are vented from older equipment.

Neither Montreal nor the Kyoto Protocol control ODS emissions. In most countries, there are no requirements or incentives for recovery and destruction of these materials under domestic regulations, including the U.S. In those countries that have attempted to mandate destruction of ODS, much of the gases have gone unaccounted for – the suspicion has been that equipment owners simply vented rather than comply (which would be a cost to them), and policing the thousands or even millions of diffuse sources is impossible.

Market Potential for ODS Projects
These regulatory gaps leave room for market-based solutions that provide incentives to capture and permanently deal with these materials. There is growing recognition that carbon markets represent an ideal solution. The Chicago Climate Exchange, Voluntary Carbon Standard and the Climate Action Reserve have all established programs to create GHG reduction credits from verified destruction of ODS. Beginning in 2009, Parties to the Montreal Protocol funded pilot ODS projects to examine how voluntary carbon markets could help address remaining ODS banks.

ODS destruction credits are now being issued to projects that intervene in the business-as-usual cycle of recycling CFC refrigerants back into older equipment. Energy used to collect, transport, and destroy the chemicals are factored into net GHG credits. ODS destruction projects meet, and in some ways exceed the criteria for GHG offsets: they are “additional” (i.e., beyond current requirements), predictable, transparent, readily verifiable, and offer immediate and permanent emission reductions. These are important distinctions in an increasingly selective carbon credit market.

Projects Developed and Listed
The Climate Action Reserve has already listed four ODS projects since their adoption of new standards in February 2010, with more expected. Earlier smaller volume projects have been registered under the Chicago Climate Exchange. It is fair to say that absent sufficient incentives from the voluntary and emerging compliance markets, these projects – and those from other project developers – would not be economically viable and those gases would be lost forever.
Policy Leadership Vital

While voluntary carbon markets have been essential in the development of standards and to spur early action, the scope of the problem in the U.S. and globally – requires that ODS destruction be recognized as a compliance credit under emerging compliance markets. As has been the case in many environmental issues, California is once again taking a leadership position by proposing that ODS destruction be included as a regulatory offset under the AB 32 program. This would immediately mobilize more projects in the near term, and needed investment in new technologies and a market transformation in the longer-term.

Recent Congressional bills – Waxman/Markey and Kerry/Lieberman – have also classified ODS destruction as a compliance offset. As of this writing, it remains uncertain whether any federal legislation to address greenhouse gases will emerge, making the action under AB 32 that much more critical.

California’s leadership will not only have important and short-term impacts in the U.S., but will also demonstrate for international policymakers that it is possible to leverage carbon financing to manage ODS banks, preventing hundreds of millions of tons of greenhouse gases, and preserve the legacy of the Montreal Protocol.

***
Joe Madden is a Co-founder and CEO of EOS Climate. He has pioneered several voluntary climate programs including LiveNeutral and TransNeutral and is also an Advisor to ATDynamics. Joe has an MBA in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School and resides in Santa Cruz, CA.
Jill Abelson, an environmental consultant/writer based in San Francisco, has worked on climate change issues since 1996. She supported pioneering advocacy campaigns at the Environmental Information Center (now the National Environmental Trust) and at Greenpeace). For ten years, she was marketing/ communications director for U.S. EPA’s prestigious Energy Star program. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College.

RemTec's Refrigerants Buyback Program

2010-05-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

RemTec's Carbon Offsets & Destruction Programs

2010-05-25T18:29:00.000-07:00

RemTec International Extends a Five-Year Agreement with DoloMatrix as Exclusive Representative for Plasma Arc ODS Destruction Technology

2010-05-12T07:10:00.000-07:00

RemTec International Extends a Five-Year Agreement with DoloMatrix as Exclusive Representative for Plasma Arc ODS Destruction Technology in North America - Producing High Quality Offset Credits for the Carbon Compliance Market

BOWLING GREEN, OH, USA – (Business Wire) – RemTec International, the largest privately-owned reclaimer of halons and refrigerants, announced today the extension of its five year agreement with DoloMatrix International, Ltd., to be the exclusive representative for SRL Plasma’s Plascon® equipment in North America, designed to destroy Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS). The Dolomatrix destruction technology along with RemTec’s patented recovery and reclaiming equipment, produces carbon offset credits that exceed the requirements of a newly released Climate Action Reserve (CAR) Ozone Depleting Substances Project Protocol. This protocol delivers permanent greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions for the carbon compliance market.

“The combination of our technologies and services provides the ultimate in transparency, tracking and accountability. In addition, Plasma Arc Destruction is environmentally superior to high temperature incineration.”

Richard Marcus, President and CEO stated, “Our alliance with DoloMatrix provides the compliance-offset market a high quality carbon offset for several reasons. First, the Destruction Efficiency (DRE) is extremely high - exceeding 99.9999% and it is environmentally superior compared to high temperature incineration that burns an assortment of hazardous waste products, in order to reduce their halocarbon load as a percentage of total harmful emissions. In contrast, Plasma Arc Technology is environmentally friendly because emissions to the atmosphere are de minimus, the rate of dioxin and furan emissions is lower by orders of magnitude, the only effluent is harmless salt water, and it has a lower carbon footprint.

“We can provide superior carbon offset credits because the combined technologies of RemTec and Dolomatrix use Technology & Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) testing methodology, specifically designed to measure the destruction of ODS. In addition, our detailed tracking and documentation system follows individual shipments from the source to final destruction. When combined with our online real-time computer monitoring, our system provides complete transparency to carbon offset providers, verifiers and outside regulatory agencies on a 24 hour basis.

“This represents the first phase in our efforts to establish regional facilities that offer cradle to grave management of halons and refrigerant gases that are high ozone depleters, or that are high in global warming potential. In addition to our existing processing plant in Bowling Green, Ohio future operations are also planned in the Middle East and Asia.”

Mr. Marcus concluded by saying, "Through the combination of our proprietary technologies, we are able to offer an enhanced ODS Destruction Protocol. This is very timely, especially considering certain recent Amendments to Senate Bill 1733, Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, that were introduced by Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Joe Lieberman (I-CT). This Bill specifically recognizes offset credits for ODS destruction for both domestic and international projects.”

ABOUT REMTEC INTERNATIONAL

Established in 1986, RemTec International is a world leader in the recovery, reclamation and destruction of Halons and Refrigerants. RemTec’s Halocarbon Management Program uses patented technologies that avoid emissions that either destroy the ozone layer, or add to global warming potential. RemTec's unique approach facilitates safe disposal of unwanted Halons, CFCs, HCFCs, and HFCs on a worldwide basis. These hazardous substances are recovered, reclaimed, and in some cases destroyed in accordance with all domestic and international regulatory standards. For more information, please visit http://www.remtec.net/

RemTec International
1100 Haskins Road
Bowling Green, Ohio, 43402
USA

419-867-8990
419-867-3279 (Facsimile)800-372-1301 (Toll Free / North America)

RemTec's Ability for ODS destruction to help your business

2010-05-11T09:33:00.000-07:00

Here is some information on the basics of Carbon Credits from ODS destruction that may help your business. RemTec International is an EPA certified refrigerant reclaimer with separation/distillation towers, an AHRI certified laboratory, and the only commercial Plascon Arc Plasma Destruction of halocarbons facility in the United States. RemTec is expanding its role as a Project Developer and Aggregator for the Climate Action Reserve (CAR) and invites you to learn how RemTec can assist in processing CRTs from the destruction of virgin or MIXED CFC refrigerants for you.

Carbon Credits, or Offset Emissions, are issued by the CAR for the destruction of R11, R12, R114, and R115 based on the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of each CFC destroyed. After proper destruction and compliance with all of the protocol requirements including independent verification, the CAR will issue or deposit CRTs (Carbon Reserve Tons) or “shares” of carbon credits representing the MTCO2e (equivalent Metric tons of Carbon Dioxide) in an account set up for the project developer or owner of the CFCs that were destroyed. The CFCs can be mixed with other refrigerants or they can be pure, but credit is only issued for the actual destruction of qualifying CFCs included in the mix. Carbon credits are not eligible for destroying Halon, R-113, R-22, R134a or other HCFCs and HFCs. MIXED refrigerants (less than 90% purity of a single CFC) also require very specific pre-destruction procedures that RemTec offers to its customers.

Also known as “environmental commodities”, CRTs are like all other commodities such as corn and wheat, and have “offered and bid” prices that fluctuate daily on the “over the counter” market based on factors such as news, the economy, but mostly on supply and demand. The good news is that when the trading price goes up, the value of the shares in your account goes up. But when it goes down, so does the value of your unsold shares.

Update written by RemTec's President Richard Marcus for FSSA

2010-04-13T07:11:00.000-07:00

UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen and Other Developments

Excerpts provided by David Stirpe, Director

The Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Responsibility

As reported in a previous FSSA white paper, the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference was held in December 2009. The intent of this meeting was to address the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, including the commitments by major developing countries to begin emission reduction efforts. The conference also addressed de-linkage of some of the major developing countries, most notably China, from the "pay to play" diplomacy model. By that we mean in order to participate in future climate change agreements that are legally binding, large carbon emitters in developing countries, such as China and India, expect financial incentives to be paid by developing countries, primarily the United States.

The Final Result

After a two-week process and appearances by top U.S. officials, including President Obama, the Copenhagen conference failed to agree on a legally binding global document to reduce global greenhouse- gas emissions.

The key result of the conference was the decision to "take note" of the Copenhagen Accord, which calls upon nations to submit their commitments, both reductions and financial contributions, by January 31, 2010. Additionally, the decision was taken to extend the work of the ad hoc working groups on long-term cooperative actions and the Kyoto Protocol. All of this activity however is non-binding, and it should be noted that up to this point in time nothing significant has been reported since the Copenhagen meeting.

It is important to note that the success of the conference hinged on negotiations between China and the United States. In the end, however, China made clear that Western diplomats would not push it into additional commitments. Significantly, China acknowledged the need to contribute to the solution and also agreed to withdraw from the old "pay to play" dynamic. But China and other large emitters, such as India and Brazil, made no firm commitments. There was also a major problem regarding the issue of transparent monitoring, reporting and verification.

Climate Change Meeting 2010

Copenhagen only reached a political agreement and not a full treaty. The supporters of climate change hope that a legally binding accord will be reached at the next major climate change meeting at COP 16. This next meeting is scheduled for Cancun, Mexico, November 29 through December 10, 2010.

Will COP 16 in Cancun result in a concrete agreement that is legally binding? It is too early to predict.

California

There is a grass roots effort to put in place an initiative on the California Ballot that would repeal AB 32 and the Golden State's version of a cap-and-trade carbon tax.

With the California jobless rate hovering around 12% plus, 2.25 million Californians are unemployed and the state government is broke, climate change issues tend to have less priority with voters. Republican Assemblyman Dan Logue has begun collecting signatures for "The Global Warming Solutions Act," a ballot initiative that would suspend California's cap-and-trade scheme until the unemployment rate falls below 5.5%. His intention is to get it placed on the November ballot.

U.S. EPA

Perhaps the most significant US activity during the Copenhagen Conference may have been the finalization of the EPA endangerment rule. This rule provides EPA with the authority to implement caps, and maybe some trade, but not offsets. EPA has admitted that a cap and trade system would not work very well without a robust offset component. The program offices at EPA have also been asked to develop climate regulatory agendas based on existing statutory authority.

U.S. Senate Legislative Activity

One development in the Senate to watch is from Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). She has introduced a resolution of disapproval that, if passed and enacted into law, would overturn EPA's Endangerment Finding and remove EPA's regulatory authority to use the Clean Air Act to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The resolution is co-sponsored by 35 Republicans and 3 Democrats. The two-page resolution would also need to be passed by the House and signed by the President in order to become law. We believe that it requires a simple majority of 51 Senate votes to pass and is not subject to a filibuster.

Now that the health care bill has been signed into law by President Obama, there is renewed interest in the Senate passing climate change legislation, perhaps even this year. Senate staff members are currently drafting amendments to Senate Bill S.1733, Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act. This activity will enable the bi-partisan trio of Senators John Kerry, Lindsey Graham, and Joe Lieberman to release a compromise version of the climate change bill in the next several weeks. Environmental and industrial groups have recently signaled their support for the proposed climate change legislation. In a related move, Bruce Josten, the top lobbyist at the US Chamber of Commerce, told reporters last week that the work being done by the three senators was "largely in synch" with the business group's views. Josten stopped short of fully endorsing the bill, but following a recent meeting with the Senator's he struck a markedly different tone to the outright opposition to previous versions of the bill that the Chamber adopted last year.

Summary

At this point in time three different climate actions are in motion to possibly impact the US business community; a very modest international treaty, a potentially more aggressive legislative approach, or a draconian Clean Air Act implementation scheme that the endangerment finding has now triggered. However, new revelations regarding the quality of the science supporting climate change, and ongoing political battles involving healthcare and the economy, may place many of these proposed sweeping economic regulations on hold at least for this year. 3/25/10

Carbon Credit FAQs

2010-04-09T12:50:00.000-07:00

What are Carbon Credits for ODS Destruction anyway?

Very simply, they are INCENTIVES. A Carbon Credit is generated when the equivalent of one metric tonne of carbon dioxide is prevented from entering the atmosphere. When just one ton of ODS is destroyed, it prevents thousands of times more chemicals from entering the atmosphere, than a ton of carbon dioxide. Therefore, it is important that ODS be destroyed and never be deliberately or accidentally discharged into the atmosphere. Carbon credits have been created to offer incentives for the destruction of ODS.

These incentives are issued by The Climate Action Reserve (CAR) or the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) or the Voluntary Carbon Standard(VCS), following the proper and well-documented destruction of eligible ODS material. These incentives or carbon credit certificates can then be sold on the open market for CASH to help offset the cost of destruction.

How much are Carbon Credits Worth?

Each carbon credit certificate can be traded (bought and sold) on the open market like other commodities are traded. Carbon Credits fluctuate with supply and demand. Demand depends on the buyers who are voluntarily being good stewards of the earth’s climate and want to participate in reducing global warming threats and also by buyers who are legally mandated to reduce their carbon emission activities or their carbon footprints. The carbon credits will be much more in demand if the Cap and Trade program is adopted by the U. S. Senate, like the one that has already passed in the House of Representatives in 2009. As the economy begins to recover, the need or demand for carbon credits will also increase. Today, they are worth between $3.00 and $8.00 depending on numerous market variables.

How are Incentives for the Destruction of ODS Calculated?

RemTec is a proud member and Project Developer for The Climate Action Reserve or CAR. The CAR is a U.S. private, nonprofit organization representing international interests, in addressing climate change and bringing together participants from the governmental, environmental and business sectors. It works to ensure environmental benefit, integrity and transparency in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions accounting and reduction and progressive movement in GHG emissions policy nationally and in the Western U.S. The Climate Action Reserve continues building on the California Registry’s reputation as a respected and internationally recognized leader in climate change issues. For additional information, please visit www.climateactionreserve.org.

The CAR recently adopted two new offset project standards that could lead to millions of metric tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions. Targeting the destruction of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS), the U.S. ODS Project Protocol and the Article 5 ODS Project Protocol provide financial incentives for destruction of ODS in the U.S. and developing countries. Because ODS can be thousands of times more damaging than carbon dioxide (CO2) at trapping heat in the atmosphere, ODS destruction offset projects may produce hundreds of thousands – or even millions – of offset credits.

RemTec’s Vice President, Tim Kearney, participated in the Working Group that developed these two offset project standards and can assist other companies that want to use the protocols to incentivize ODS destruction. These two protocols are defined on the CAR website, but help from project developers such as RemTec may be needed to really understand them and adapt them to your situation. These two protocols show how to calculate the quantity of incentives (carbon credits known as Carbon Reserve Tonnes or CRTs) that result from the destruction of ODS. Not all ODS destruction projects are eligible and very strict verification processes are required before credits are issued. RemTec is here to help! Call 800-372-1301 for more information.

What ODS chemicals are eligible for destruction?

The CAR Protocol provides incentives for the destruction of R-11, R-12, R-114 and R-115 only if they were previously used in refrigerant applications or are from virgin stockpiles. Other CFCs recovered from foam building insulation and from appliance insulation may also be eligible.

If the material is imported to the USA from certain developing countries, referred to as Article V member countries in the Montreal Protocol, it is also eligible, and R-113 is also added to the list of eligible CFCs.

How does RemTec Destroy ODS?.

RemTec utilizes a high-efficiency Plasma Arc technology that is designed to break down halocarbons and other organic matter, at an ultra high efficiency rated in excess if 99.9999%. Since the only significant effluent is a salt solution, this technology is considered safe to operate and environmentally friendly. RemTec’s Plasma Arc Destruction System meets or exceeds all TEAP performance standards.
Follow this link for more information: http://www.remtec.net/eudisposal_destruction.html

Navigating the American Carbon World

2010-04-06T10:29:00.000-07:00

Come see Tim Kearney in San Francisco, CA to discuss more on Carbon Offsets on April 14th - 16th.

Carbon Credits offer incentives to recover and destroy ODS. The Destruction of CFCs prevents Global Warming and damage to the Ozone Layer.

2010-02-23T13:13:00.000-08:00

The Climate Action Reserve (CAR) has formally released a Destruction of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) Project Protocol and an Imported Ozone Depleting Substances Project Protocol. These protocols will provide a standardized approach for quantifying and monitoring the GHG reductions from projects that destroy domestic or imported ODS with high global warming potentials that otherwise would have been vented to the atmosphere. RemTec has been participating in this project by serving on the Workgroup that provided input to the CAR. The protocols are available at this link:
http://www.climateactionreserve.org/how/protocols/adopted/ods/current/

RemTec offers destruction services for ODS destruction using the patented Argon Plasma Arc technology and will be following all procedures to qualify ODS destruction for CAR protocols. Depending on market conditions, these offset credits could cover all the costs of destruction and provide additional incentives to convert to CFC alternatives. Upon successful destruction and verification, CAR issues “Carbon Reserve Tonnes” or CRTs recognizing the emissions of CO2 avoided. The CRTs are traded daily in the “carbon market”.

The House of Representatives passed its version of Climate legislation earlier this year while the Senate is still debating the legislation. If passed, companies would be required to measure and monitor their carbon emissions to reduce them from 2005 levels. Optionally, companies could purchase offset credits (CRTs) to meet reduction targets thereby raising the market value of these CRTs based on supply and demand. Both legislations will allow carbon offset credits to include those earned from the destruction of certain ozone depleting substances such as CFCs. CFCs not only destroy the ozone layer, but they have a very high global warming potential.

Although the Montreal Protocol phases out production, import, and export of ODS, emissions of ODS are not controlled explicitly. In addition, no obligations to destroy ODS exist under either the Montreal Protocol or the Kyoto Protocol, and while many countries, including the U.S., have no-venting regulations, they are not always well enforced. Moreover, current destruction of unwanted ODS is minimal or nonexistent, with the majority of unwanted ODS currently being stored in original equipment (which leads to slow leakage or accidental release), rather than being destroyed. Thus, any ODS that is destroyed is considered a greenhouse gas emission reduction, since, in the absence of destruction, nearly 100 percent of the ODS will eventually be released to the atmosphere.RemTec offers destruction services for ODS that can result in offset credits.

For more information contact RemTec today or visit our website www.remtec.net

An update on the Copenhagen Outlook to the Alliance Members:

2009-12-17T12:43:00.000-08:00

December 16, 2009
TO: Alliance Members
FROM: Kevin FayDave Stirpe Alex Perry
SUBJECT: Copenhagen Outlook
_________________________________________________________________
With a steady increase in the number of world leaders who have confirmed their attendance at COP 15 in Copenhagen this week and with the shift in President Obama’s attendance from Wednesday December 9 to Friday December 18, the prospects that some kind of “operational political agreement” (the Administration’s label for what kind of agreement they are looking to conclude during the COP) will emerge from the negotiations are steadily increasing.

The major issues remain:
--the extent of developed country commitments
--the inclusion of specific developing country commitments
--the development of financial mechanisms to provide capacity building, mitigation and aptation funding for developing countries
--the identification of a long-term objective
--the completion of a regime for realistic compliance requirements for monitoring, reporting and verification that applies to all parties

As we reported previously, although meaningful progress was made over the last few months on many of the second tier issues relating to market operations, offsets, and technology transfer, it remains very unclear whether the process in Copenhagen can come to ground in order to effectively address the five points above. With an overlay of chaotic conditions within the Bella Center (the COP headquarters), the freakish sideshow taking place outside with the types of protests and interest groups that have become the status quo for any significant international leaders meeting, the fact that the significant majority of NGO and IGO participants will be excluded from the meeting center for the last two days of high level meetings, topped off with thousands of media representatives hanging on every word and the arrival of at least 120 heads of state, the pressure on the lead negotiators and national participants is enormous.

The character of a new climate agreement seems to be moving away from the model established by the Kyoto Protocol. Kyoto represented a single “centralized” model containing common but differentiated targets shared by all developed country parties in the short to medium term, relying on a common currency of allowances and certified emission reductions. What is expected to emerge from Copenhagen is starting to look like it will revolve around an agreement of a long-term objective and a system of pledge and review combined with hopefully meaningful and uniform compliance requirements in terms of monitoring, reporting and verification for developed and developing countries.

The long-term objective proposals include an agreement to limit global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius by 2100 or a 50% reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Developing nations such as China, India, Brazil, and South Africa continue to oppose a long-term objective of a 50% reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and a group of developing countries is also trying to push for a limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The path to reach this long-term objective would first be achieved by national commitments of the major emitters, including all developed countries and the major developing country economies. These pledges, set by the parties themselves rather than the central treaty, would be supported by a system of review to ensure countries are complying with their own pledges; otherwise known as monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV).

From the market mechanism standpoint, the analogy has been suggested that the system is moving away from a common currency (the Kyoto Protocol AAU/CER structure) towards a system that will have these national commitments with some type of exchange rate. It remains to be seen how this approach might impact the functioning of the global carbon market(s).

The view has been that the political agreement would include appendices of these national commitments as part of the agreement. This compendium would be reinforced by a reasonable regime of MRV. During President Obama’s recent trip to Beijing, the US and China concluded an assistance package that will include US help to the Chinese in measuring and reporting their emissions. One potential sticking point, however, is that the US is not willing to create differentiated responsibilities in MRV, but China and other developing countries have steadfastly opposed such compliance requirements for themselves. The US government says it will refuse to submit itself to more stringent reporting and verification protocols than any other party.

Over the course of the discussions here in Copenhagen so far, the developing countries have continued to balk at the notion of actually attaching their commitments to the political agreement. The US says it needs more than just warm expressions of interest from developing countries, and while much progress had been made with major announcements from countries such as China, India, and Brazil, it has now taken on a slightly different dynamic in the context of the overall negotiations.

It appears that there may be some agreement on financing. The US announced it is willing to put up its share of a $10 billion fund for developing country adaptation and capacity building. This signal was reinforced by Sen. John Kerry’s (D-MA) introduction of the International Climate Change Investment Act of 2009, which will form part of the Senate’s climate package and contains a framework for the federal government to assess and distribute climate financing. Kerry has said that he would like $3 billion included in next year’s appropriations for developing nations to fight climate change. Furthermore, the House-passed American Clean Energy and Security Act would offer something in the region of $1.4 billion (in 2012) and $2.6 billion (in 2019). Other developed nations have also contributed to the thinking that some kind of financing deal is possible; a joint British and French proposal to provide $22 billion in financing over the next three years from the developed world was endorsed by the Commonwealth Heads of State, which includes a large number of the same developing nations that have been pushing for hard commitments from the developed world on finance.

Currently, according to our discussions with leaders of the US delegation, the financing amounts are not settled but negotiations appear to revolve around commitments beyond the three year plan being discussed. The negotiators need to balance that against domestic concerns that too large a commitment over too long a time frame creates an additional political cost burden for passage of the final climate legislation in the U.S.

The Kyoto Protocol is unlikely to be formally set aside at Copenhagen, developing nations are unwilling to abandon the only legally binding climate treaty without the conclusion of a second. In fact, the African nations halted all discussions on the substantive issues to protest the lack of any progress on new Kyoto Protocol commitments. There has been a uniform view among developed countries that a single regime needs to emerge from these talks. The US view seems to be that this is likely to be a two- or three-step process to get there.

As has been typical for some time in these international climate negotiations, far too much work on a wide range of second tier issues also remains. It is expected that the political agreement will include appendices on technology, adaptation and reduction of deforestation (REDD). But even the completion of these texts was uncertain and potentially being kicked upstairs for the Ministers to decide.

The Ministerial level meeting will have only so much capacity to deal with these issues while attempting to sort out the top five we have listed above. Much will be folded in to work anticipated to be done in the coming year to turn the political agreement into a legally binding agreement.

There is also a controversial proposal to assess fees on aviation and maritime bunker fuels as a means of providing additional financing for developing country adaptation. The US has typically opposed any proposal that would seem to appear to create a global taxing authority. But the Danish Chair of the COP, Environment Minister Connie Hedegaard, has reportedly been lobbying heavily in favor because of the lack of other options for sources of funding.

It is hoped that the Copenhagen “operational political agreement” can be translated into a legally-binding one by mid- to late-2010, perhaps concluding at the next conference of parties in Mexico City, currently scheduled for November 8-19, 2010. Regardless of how the 2010 calendar evolves, COP 15’s overall contribution to the conclusion of such a deal will certainly be important, even if the original intentions of the Bali Agreement in 2007 have not become the reality that was envisioned at the time.

We will continue to report on meeting progress and results as they develop.

Dave Stirpe
Executive Director
Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy
2111 Wilson Blvd., 8th Floor
Arlington, VA 22201

Update from United Nations Development Programme

2009-12-17T08:16:00.000-08:00

Click Here to read an article from the UNDP titled: The Facility for Additional Income UNDP Inputs on Cabon Markets as a Potential Financing Source

Climate Change News: Provided by HARC and Tom Cortina, Managing Director.

2009-12-07T13:41:00.000-08:00

Climate Change
International Negotiations
New post-2012 treaty being negotiated at COP 15 in December in Copenhagen
Wide gap between US (1990 levels in 2020) and EU (20-40% below 1990 levels in 2020)
Commitments from large developing countries like China and India key issue
Funding for developing countries key issue
Likely to be some type of political agreement or framework, to be followed by negotiation of details of full fledged treaty next year

Senate Climate Bill (S. 1733)
Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (Kerry-Boxer, S. 1733)
Creates an economy-wide cap-and-trade program covering 85% of US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
Intended to reduce GHG emissions by 20% below 2005 levels in 2020, and 83% in 2050
Reported out of the Environment and Public Works Committee without amendments by an 11-1 vote, with Republican members boycotting the mark-up due to an incomplete EPA analysis

Senate Climate Bill (S. 1733)
HFC Provisions
Almost identical to House bill
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are covered separately from other GHGs by amending Title VI of the CAA (ODS regulations)
Class II substances would be split into two groups, with group I containing the HCFCs and group II containing the HFCs
Overall production of HFCs is phased down beginning in 2012 and ending in 2032

Senate Climate Bill (S. 1733)
HFC Reduction Schedule
2012 - 90% of baseline 2023 - 54%
2013 - 87.5% 2024 - 50%
2014 - 85% 2025 - 46%
2015 - 82.5% 2026 - 42%
2016 - 80% 2027 - 38%
2017 - 77.5% 2028 - 34%
2018 - 75% 2029 - 30%
2019 - 71% 2030 - 25%
2020 - 67% 2031 - 21%
2021 - 63% 2032 - 17%
2022 - 59% after 2032 - 15%

Senate Climate Bill (S. 1733)
HFC Provisions - Allowances
Allowances are required to produce/import HFCs, or import products containing HFCs
The minimum auction price and non-auction sales price for allowances are set in the early years of the program as follows:
$1.00 per MT in 2012, $1.20 in 2013, $1.40 in 2014
Minimum auction price rises to $1.60 in 2015, $1.80 in 2016, $2.00 in 2017, and then increases with inflation for the rest of the program

Senate Climate Bill (S. 1733)
HFC Provisions - Allowance Cost
At $1.00 per metric ton (2012):
HFC-227ea = $1.46 per pound (GWP = 3,220)
HFC-125 = $1.59 per pound (GWP = 3,500)
HFC-236fa = $4.46 per pound (GWP = 9,810)
HFC-23 = $6.73 per pound (GWP = 14,800)
At $2.00 per metric ton (2017):
HFC-227ea = $2.93 per pound
HFC-125 = $3.18 per pound
HFC-236fa = $8.92 per pound
HFC-23 = $13.45 per pound

Senate Climate Bill (S. 1733)
HFC Provisions - Labeling/Assistance
Essential use, labeling, nonessential product, safe alternatives, and other provisions of Title VI would be extended to HFCs
Products containing or made with HFCs would be required to be labeled with the phrase “contributing to global warming”
Provides possible funding to manufacturers of products containing HFCs, including fire protection systems, to facilitate the transition to low-carbon alternatives

Senate Climate Bill (S. 1733)
HFC Provisions - Essential Use
Essential use provisions would allow EPA to withhold allowances from under the cap and allocate them specifically to produce HFCs for medical devices, aviation and space flight safety, fire suppression, and national security
Essential use provisions would also allow EPA to approve additional HFC production above the cap for developing countries, national security, and fire suppression

Senate Climate Bill (S. 1733)
HFC Provisions - Destruction
Offset credits are provided at a 20% discount for destruction of CFCs after 2011 in the US
EPA can add other class I or class II ODS
EPA can add ODS destruction to list of offset projects that receive credit in main program
CFC destruction projects that occur between 2009 and 2012 and are recognized under a State or comparable program could receive credit under the early offset provisions

Senate Climate Bill (S. 1733)
Prospects for Passage
Expected to be taken up again in Spring 2010
Senators Kerry (D-MA), Graham (R-SC) and Lieberman (I-CT) are currently working on the framework of a compromise that could get bipartisan support and the 60 votes needed to pass the Senate
Must still be reconciled with House bill
If not done by mid-2010, could be difficult to pass in an election year

HEEP Update
Final report of 2002-2007 data was released in May
2008 data collection is underway
18 of 21 companies have reported to date
Expect to have 2008 collection completed and report on the data at March meeting

Climate Action Reserve
Climate Action Reserve is a non-profit national GHG offset registry - associated with California Climate Action Registry
Develop project standards and register and track voluntary offset credits
Have decided to move forward with protocol development for ODS destruction, halons not included due to questions of indirect GWP
Draft ODS project protocols now available for public comment - due December 18
Public workshop on December 7 in DC

CAR Releases ODS Destruction Protocols For Public Comment

2009-11-24T10:21:00.000-08:00

Comments Due by December 18, 2009

The Climate Action Reserve (CAR) has released a Destruction of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) Project Protocol and an Imported Ozone Depleting Substances Project Protocol for public comments.
The draft U.S. Ozone Depleting Substances Project Protocol and Imported Ozone Depleting Substances Project Protocol are now available for public review and comment. The U.S. and Imported ODS protocols provide methodologies for destroying ODS material sourced from the U.S. and Article 5 countries, respectively. Comments from the public are due no later than 5:00 PM PST on December 18, 2009.

Also a public workshop will be held on December 7, 2009, in Washington, D.C. with conference call-in capability, to solicit stakeholder feedback on both protocols. Information on the public workshop and copies of the protocols are available on the Reserve website.

RemTec’s Tim Kearney was a member of the Working Group and assisted in the development of the two Protocols. He is available to assist those needing more information or interpretation of the Protocols. RemTec provides destruction of ODS services using its Argon Plasma Arc technology and will be following all procedures to qualify ODS destruction for CAR protocols. Depending on market conditions, these offset credits could cover all the costs of destruction and provide additional incentives to convert to CFC alternatives.

For more information visit the RemTec website at www.remtec.net

CFC Destruction Carbon Credit Update

2009-11-18T08:40:00.000-08:00

Carbon Credits offer incentives to recover and destroy ODS

The Climate Action Reserve (CAR) is in the process of releasing a Destruction of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) Project Protocol and an Imported Ozone Depleting Substances Project Protocol. These protocols will provide a standardized approach for quantifying and monitoring the GHG reductions from projects that destroy domestic or imported ODS with high global warming potentials that would have otherwise been vented to the atmosphere. RemTec has been participating in this project by serving on the Workgroup that is providing input to the CAR. The draft protocols could be released next week for public comments.

The Reserve will host a public workshop to provide a venue for public feedback on the draft Ozone Depleting Substances Project Protocols in Washington, D.C., on December 7, 2009. For more details on the workshop, go to http://www.climateactionreserve.org/how/protocols/in-progress/ozone-depleting-substances-project-protocol/.

After the workshop, RemTec will be in a better position to provide more details. RemTec offers destruction services for ODS destruction using the patented Argon Plasma Arc technology and will be following all procedures to qualify ODS destruction for CAR protocols. Depending on market conditions, these offset credits could cover all the costs of destruction and provide additional incentives to convert to CFC alternatives.

For more information visit the RemTec website at http://www.remtec.net/

Offset Credits for CFC Destruction Included in Senate Climate Bill

2009-11-11T06:26:00.000-08:00

Destruction of CFCs prevent Global Warming and damage to the Ozone Layer

Last week the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted to report S. 1733, the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, out of committee by an 11-1 vote. The bill must now be considered by other Senate committees before it moves to the floor for reconciliation with the Energy Bill that was reported out of committee earlier this year. The House passed its version of Climate legislation earlier this year.

Both bills create a “cap and trade” mechanism to control greenhouse gases and other climate change initiatives. Both bills will also allow carbon offset credits for the destruction of certain ozone depleting substances such as CFCs. CFCs not only destroy the ozone layer, but they have a very high global warming potential.

Although the Montreal Protocol phases out production, import, and export of ODS, emissions of ODS are not controlled explicitly. In addition, no obligations to destroy ODS exist under either the Montreal Protocol or the Kyoto Protocol, and while many countries, including the U.S., have no-venting regulations, they are not always well enforced. Moreover, current destruction of unwanted ODS is minimal or nonexistent , with the majority of unwanted ODS currently being stored in original equipment (which leads to slow leakage or accidental release), rather than being destroyed. Thus, any ODS that is destroyed is considered a greenhouse gas emission reduction, since, in the absence of destruction, nearly 100 percent of the ODS will eventually be released to the atmosphere.

Therefore, both bills will incentivize the destruction of ODS by allowing offset credits determined by each chemical’s global warming potential. It is uncertain if the Senate Bill will be debated and voted on this year.

RemTec offers destruction services for ODS that can result in offset credits. See http://www.remtec.net/ for more information.