African Countries Endorse HFC Phase Down Under Montreal Protocol

Support start of formal negotiations to eliminate one of six main greenhouse gases

Success will provide fast climate benefits for vulnerable continent

Cairo, Egypt, 6 March 2015 – The 54 countries of Africa, meeting in Cairo at the 15^th session of African Ministerial Conference on the Environment, urged all member States to use the Montreal Protocol to phase down the production and use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and requested all to work towards a formal contact group to begin the negotiations this year. 

The Cairo Declaration’s operative language “urge[s] member States to use the experience, expertise and institutions of the Montreal Protocol … to phase down the production and consumption of HFCs while continuing to use other existing mechanisms for accounting and reporting of emissions…; and request[s] the parties… to work towards establishing an open-ended contact group during its meetings in 2015 ….”

HFCs are powerful greenhouse gases up to 10,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide.  Phasing down the production and consumption of HFCs under the Montreal Protocol will avoid the equivalent of 100 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 (range of 87 to 146), which will avoid 0.5°C of warming by 2100. A fast phase down by 2020 would avoid up to 60 billion tonnes of CO2-eq more. Significant additional mitigation of carbon dioxide will be catalyzed by improvements in the efficiency of air conditioners and other appliances using HFCs as refrigerants during the phase down.

“Though HFCs currently represent a small fraction of the total greenhouse gas emissions, their global-warming-potential is very high, and their emissions could rise even up to 40% of annual carbon dioxide emissions by the middle of the century if society continues,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner in his keynote address at the Cairo meeting.  Steiner also reported that “the Montreal Protocol has provided African countries with US$286 million for the phase-out [of CFCs and other fluorinated gases]…. This includes over US$32 million supporting National Ozone Units in 53 countries.”

“The 54 countries of Africa face some of the most immediate and damaging climate impacts, and they recognize that cutting HFCs through the Montreal Protocol will be a huge climate victory both for the continent, and for all nations throughout the world,” said Durwood Zaelke, President of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development. “Eliminating one of the six main greenhouse gases this year using the Montreal Protocol will provide tremendous momentum for a successful outcome at the Paris climate negotiations in December,” Zaelke added.

President Obama negotiated a series of bilateral agreements over the past two years with President Xi of China and Prime Minister Modi of India, leading to the support of these countries for phasing down production and consumption of HFCs under the Montreal Protocol, leaving accounting and reporting of HFC emissions in the UNFCCC.

The Montreal Protocol is holding an extra-ordinary meeting in April, starting with a two-day technical workshop on the availability of climate-friendly alternatives to HFCs, followed by a three-day meeting of the Open-Ended Working Group.  Several groups of countries are preparing to submit formal proposals to phase down HFCs, most likely in the week after the April meeting.

IGSD’s Primer on HFCs in here.

Obama continues leader-level campaign to eliminate these super climate pollutants

Deadly air pollution another climate target

25 January 2015 – India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama issued a joint statement today agreeing to make “concrete progress in the Montreal Protocol this year,” building on their prior understandings to phasedown of HFCs at their September 2014 meeting. (See para. 45.)

“Today’s joint HFC agreement shows that President Obama is not letting up on his leader-level campaign to eliminate one of the six main greenhouse gases this year, using the world’s most effective and efficient environmental treaty,” said Durwood Zaelke, President of the Institute of Governance & Sustainable Development. “Today’s agreement with Prime Minister Modi is a critical step forward on the climate front, and complements a similar set of agreements President Obama negotiated with President Xi of China last year.”

John Podesta, Obama’s top climate advisor, confirmed in the Indian press that the President has the “‘full commitment’ of the Prime Minister to move forward on phasing down HFCs according to the Montreal Protocol.”

“With Prime Minister Modi’s support and leadership, it is now possible to conclude an agreement this year to eliminate HFCs under the Montreal Protocol,” Zaelke added.  “This will provide powerful political momentum for a successful climate agreement in Paris in December.”

Under their September 2014 U.S.-India Joint Statement, which the two leaders reaffirmed today, they “recognized the need to use the institutions and expertise of the Montreal Protocol to reduce consumption and production of HFCs, while continuing to report and account for quantities reduced under the UNFCCC.”

The September HFC agreement was part of a broader energy and climate package, as is today’s agreement, where the United States will provide support to advance India’s capacity to address climate change and shift to a low-carbon and climate-resistant energy economy, while improving air quality and energy efficiency.  This will include making $1 billion available to finance renewable energy and new research and development institutes for developing clean energy in India.

Under today’s agreement, the U.S. also will be helping India improve the efficiency of its air conditioning sector, which uses 40 to 60% of India’s electricity in hot periods, often contributing to blackouts on the grid. Historically, when the Montreal Protocol has mandated a phase out of a refrigerant like HFCs, A/C manufacturers have used the opportunity to improve the energy efficiency of their products to lower cost and improve customer satisfaction. Improving A/C efficiency in India can save enough electricity to avoid building 120 medium-sized power plants by 2030, according to Lawrence Berkeley energy lab in California.

Eliminating HFCs with high global warming potential will avoid up to 0.5°C of warming by 2100.  If done quickly, phasing out HFCs can avoid up to 200 billion tones of CO₂-equivalent.  This is more than 10% of the climate mitigation needed to stay below the 2°C guardrail for limiting warming above pre-Industrial levels.  If the CO₂ mitigation from improvement in appliance energy efficiency is added, the total climate mitigation could double.

“The Montreal Protocol is widely regarded as the most effective climate treaty ever created, and it’s on track to eliminate one of the main climate pollutants as a warm up to the UN climate agreement in Paris this December,” Zaelke stated.

Today’s agreement between Modi and Obama also included cooperation on air pollution, “to reduce … exposure to harmful levels of air pollution, and … implement corrective strategies for improving Ambient Air Quality in the cities keeping in view health and climate change co-benefits of these strategies.”  (See para. 44 (iv).)

“Cutting black carbon soot and ground level ozone air pollution globally can cut the rate of climate change in half through mid-century,” Zaelke stated. “Prime Minister Modi can now join President Obama and President Xi of China in this key strategy, and in the process save millions of lives in India while improving crop yields enough to feed 94 million people a year in India.”  See The Path to a Safe Climate Goes Through India, by Zaelke & Ramanathan. 

The White House Fact Sheet: U.S. and India Climate and Clean Energy Cooperation is here.

IGSD’s HFC Primer is here.