Press Release
North American Leaders’ Double-Barreled Climate Strategy
June 29, 2016
Today President Obama, Prime Minister Trudeau, and President Pena Nieto agreed to an aggressive double-barreled climate strategy, committing to cut both carbon dioxide, by moving to 50% clean energy sources by 2025, and the short-lived super pollutants. read more
Modi Joins Obama for Fast Implementation of Paris Agreement
June 7, 2016
Today Prime Minister Modi and President Obama took another big step forward as partners in the battle to slow climate change making a down payment by cutting HFCs under Montreal Protocol. read more
Dr. Mostafa Tolba, Father of Montreal Protocol, Dies at 93
March 29, 2016
Dr. Tolba was a brilliant Egyptian scientist and forceful diplomat who led the United Nations Environment Program for 17 years starting in 1975. “He knew when to push and when to pull and when to lock negotiators in a room until they found a solution to the planet’s early environmental problems,” said Durwood Zaelke read more
President Commits to Continuing Climate Leadership
January 12, 2016
President Obama re-committed tonight in his final State of the Union address to continue his efforts to reduce the threat of climate change, making it a key part of his vision of how to keep American great in the long term. This includes having the United States develop the clean energy needed to replace climate-damaging fossil fuels, according to the President. read more
Countries Agree to Use Montreal Protocol to Phase Down HFCs
November 6, 2015
The countries of the world agreed today to work together in 2016 to use the Montreal Protocol to eliminate the global warming contribution from one of the six main greenhouse gases by phasing down refrigerants called hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs. A long list of details are scheduled to be negotiated during a series of meetings next year during, both at an extraordinary Working Group… read more
Parties Agree to Negotiate Phase Down of Powerful Greenhouse Gas
October 30, 2015
Tonight Parties to the Montreal Protocol agreed to launch formal negotiations to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) under the Montreal Protocol. After two days of discussions, Parties agreed on the path forward for the formal negotiations to phase down these super greenhouse gases, now growing at a rate to 10 to 15 percent per year. read more
University of California Commits to Campus Carbon Neutrality in 10 Years
October 27, 2015
California Governor Jerry Brown, University of California (UC) President Janet Napolitano, along with many other legislators, business leaders, and top energy and climate experts committed to UC carbon neutrality in ten years as a beacon for California and the rest of the world to stay below the 2°C guardrail, at the Carbon Neutrality Summit today. read more
Montreal Protocol Best Way to Reduce Super Pollutant HFCs, Says New Climate Economy
October 22, 2015
A new paper from the New Climate Economy recommends that Parties to the Montreal Protocol approve an amendment to phase down Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a fast mitigation action that could avoid the equivalent of up to 200 billion tones of carbon dioxide by 2050, and up to 0.5C of warming by the end of the century. By 2030, the HFC amendment could avoid 1.7 Gt CO2 equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions per year, more than the current annual emissions of Japan. read more
Administration Accelerates End Game for HFCs
October 15, 2015
Today the White House, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Defense (DOD), and dozens of private companies launched the end game for hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) greenhouse gases both domestically through the federal procurement and the Clean Air Act, and globally, through the Montreal Protocol. The HFC cuts were announced at a White House roundtable read more
Groups Demand Faster US Phase Out of Super-Greenhouse Gasses
October 6, 2015
In the continuing battle to phase down the super-greenhouse gasses known as HFCs, today environmental groups demanded that the EPA withdraw approval for these chemicals in all application where lower global warming potential (GWP) alternatives are now available. The petition, submitted by IGSD and NRDC, was filed with EPA under the Clean Air Act’s Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP). read more