 Earth's ozone layer is on track to fully recover within decades, as ozone-depleting substances are phased out around the world. Like many countries, St. Lucia has advanced its phase-out of hydrochlorofluorocarbons, or HCFCs, and ozone-depleting substance that is commonly used in foam, refrigeration, and air-conditioning sectors that destroy the protective ozone layer and contribute to climate change. Keisha Jabatist from the National Ozone Unit outlines the activities scheduled under the second stage of the HCFC phase-out in St. Lucia. We're launching the second stage of St. Lucia's HPMP. It's our HCFC hydrochlorofluorocarbons phase-out management plan. And this plan outlines our overall strategy to phase out HCFCs by 2030. Sulton, who prepared our HPMP, will be presenting the key elements of the plan, which include capacity-building activities for refrigeration and air-conditioning technicians, updating and strengthening our legislations to control the import and use of ozone-depleting substances, especially HCFCs, our plan to enroll education and awareness programs so that consumers and the general public will be aware of the HCFC phase-out and what alternatives are out there that are better for the environment and more energy efficient, and also the plan to establish a reclamation facility for St. Lucia in order to encourage the reuse and recovery of refrigerants. St. Lucia's HCFC phase-out is funded by the Multilateral Fund to the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances responsible for ozone depletion. St. Lucia met obligations to reduce consumption of HCFC by 35% on January 1, 2020, and accelerated the phase-out of chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, by 2008, two years ahead of the Montreal Protocol schedule. According to data, St. Lucia is on course to complete HCFC phase-out well ahead of the 2030 schedule. In his address at the Stage 2 launch, Mr. Leslie Smith, refrigeration and air conditioning standards expert from Grenada, commended St. Lucia for its phase-out achievements and caution stakeholders for the work ahead. We must never become complacent until we are assured that the ozone layer is finally recovered. In doing so, the launch of the Stage 2 HPMP signifies the government of St. Lucia's commitment in contributing to the global effort to preserve, protect and enhance our fragile environment. While this project addresses ozone depletion substances, you must be mindful that the replacement technologies do not introduce greenhouse gases that would make it difficult for you to achieve the targets under the Kigali Amendment. And therefore, you are encouraged to leapfrog these high global warming potential alternatives and to move into a more sustainable and long-term solution. The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol aims to reduce hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs. They were developed to replace ozone-damaging CFCs and HCFCs, but they have high global warming potential. The official launching ceremony for St. Lucia's second stage of its HFC phase-out management plan, held on 9th February at the Bay Gardens Hotel, was attended by stakeholders of the refrigeration and air-conditioning sector, officials from customs and excise department, the Ministry of Commerce, the National Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Association, and retailers of equipment and refrigerants. For the Department of Sustainable Development, I am Jesse Layance reporting.