With funding of US$ 2.46 million from the French Global Environment Facility (FFEM), the Abating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Obsolete Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Equipment in West Africa (AGORA) project aims to jointly protect the ozone layer, directly and indirectly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Ghana and Nigeria in the cooling sector, and to create a market transformation engine in the RAC sector in Africa towards low global warming technologies.

It has three specific objectives:

1. Establish or strengthen policy, regulation and partnerships to ensure the success of RAC equipment replacement schemes that result in the avoidance of GHG emissions at the end of the equipment's life in a circular fashion;
2. Transformation of the RAC market through ambitious replacement programmes, creating a fleet of energy efficient domestic equipment using low GWP refrigerants; and
3. Initiate market transformation in the air conditioning sector in Africa, by promoting certain new technology developments (notably R290-based domestic air conditioning) that are still not widely used despite their maturity.

The project was launched in 2024 and the project is implemented in close cooperation with UN Environment Programme’s United For Efficiency team and in synergy with the HPMPs and KIP programmes in Ghana and Nigeria.