Post-Release of all-Russian Competition “Protect the Ozone Layer and the Earth Climate”
At 11 a.m. on September 16, 2013, a ceremony of awarding the winners of all-Russian competition “Protect the Ozone Layer and the Climate of Earth” took place in the conference hall of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation. The competition was held as part of the formal events of the Year of the Environmental Protection in pursuance of the Russian President’s Decree No. 1157 “On conducting the Year of the Environmental Protection in the Russian Federation” of 10.08.2012 and Edict of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 2189-p of 26.11.2012. The competition participants were students of schools, secondary vocational and higher education institutions. The competition organizers were: the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, and UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization).
The competition was held with support of the Global Environment Facility which implements the project for HCFC phase out in the Russian Federation in cooperation with UNIDO and the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
Sergey Donskoy, the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, greeted the competition participants via video message.
The awarding ceremony was attended by Semen Levi, the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Sergey Korotkov, the Director of the UNIDO Center for International Industrial Cooperation in the Russian Federation, representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Education and Science, UNIDO, Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resource Usage, Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring, and the competition partners: Daikin Europe, OOO DuPont Science and Technologies, and GoldStar.
In Russia, the celebration of the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer was initiated in 2011 by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. In 2012 the country celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol.
In 2013, the Government of the Russian Federation, with its Edict No. 2189-p, charged the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, and UNIDO with arrangement of all-Russian competition “Protect the Ozone Layer and Earth Climate” which was held among students of schools, secondary vocational and higher education institutions.
The Competition goal was to raise the awareness of teachers, students and pupils of the problems of the ozone layer and the national policy for build-up of the youth’s ecological literacy.
For information: In Russia, ozone depleting substances are still widely used as refrigerants in industrial and domestic air-conditioners (more than 8 million of HCFC-containing appliances are currently in operation), in industrial and commercial refrigerating equipment, foam agents used in heat insulation of domestic refrigerators (up to 40 % of those in operation), sandwich panels, and solvents.
The competition was held in 3 stages (regional, federal and final) in all constituents of the Russian Federation.
The nominations were in the following age groups:
- “Picture” for 1–4 year students,
- “Poster” for 5–7 year students,
- “Sustainability project” for students aging from the 5th year of school to higher educational institutions,
- “Essay”, “Educational and Research and Scientific Work”, “Public Service Ad” for students from the 8th year to higher educational institutions,
- “Methodological materials” for students of secondary vocational and higher education institutions.
689 best works selected at the regional stage from 58 constituents of the Russian Federation were submitted for the federal stage.
The final stage was held from September 14 till September 16, 2013. The winners’ awarding ceremony, timed to the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer celebrated on September 16, took place in the conference hall of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation.
The winners also attended an occasional educational lecture at the Moscow planetarium and visited the DuPont innovation center in Moscow.
The winners’ works will be exhibited in the UNIDO Headquarters in Vienna (Austria).
The prizes for the winners and awardees were provided by Daikin Europe, GoldStar, OOO DuPont Science and Technology, UNIDO, Research Institute for Ecology and Rational Use of Natural Resources.
It is worthy of note that on July 23, 2013, the President of the Russian Federation signed Federal Law No. 226-FZ “On amending Federal Law “On Environment Protection” and particular legislative acts of the Russian Federation” aimed at ensuring fulfillment of the Russia’s Montreal Protocol commitments. Its provisions prohibit to design and construct any facilities producing ozone-depleting substances (ODS) and ODS-containing products, and landfill ODS-containing products without prior environmentally safe recovery of ODS for re-use or destruction; as well as introduce reporting on ODS production and use, and administrative responsibility for failure to comply with new requirements regulating ODS use.
Currently, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, with active participation of representatives of enterprises engaged in manufacture of ODS-based products as well as installation and servicing of HVAC&R equipment (as part of the working group set up under the auspices of UNIDO), prepares an FZ-226 by-law.
This law entering into force will not only favor fulfillment of Russia’s international obligations—failure to do so would entail serious economic sanctions, with the next 90 % cut in use coming already in 2015—but will also allow Russia to introduce new technologies, open global markets for Russian producers to export their refrigerating equipment and insulating foams, contribute to legalization of the domestic HVAC&R market, and improve energy efficiency of HVAC&R systems in operation.
Official online sources where you can find information on the Competition:
- http://www.ecoinfo.ru/ozon/—official website of the Competition, and
- https://www.ozoneprogram.ru/eng/—website of the UNIDO/GEF-MNRE project on HCFC phase out in the Russian Federation