The UK has today become one of the first nations to ratify a
landmark agreement that will play a major role in preventing
global warming by reducing emissions from appliances such as air
conditioning units and refrigerators.
The Kigali amendment to the UN Montreal Protocol commits nations
to reducing hydrofluorocarbon greenhouse gases (HFCs) by 85%
between 2019 and 2036.
These harmful greenhouse gases could have risen by up to 11% by
2050 and the United Kingdom is one of the first countries to
approve the landmark UN agreement to help prevent that from
happening.
The Montreal Protocol is already one of the most successful
treaties ever agreed, having phased out 98% of ozone depleting
substances – including chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and
hydrochlorofluorocarbons. As a result, the ozone layer is showing
the first signs of recovery.
The Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which the UK has
completed ratifying, goes even further and extends targets to
HFCs. Although HFCs do not harm the ozone layer, they have a
global warming potential thousands of times greater than carbon
dioxide.
Consequently this deal is likely to avoid close to 0.5 degrees
Celsius of global warming by the end of this century, making it
the most significant step yet in achieving the Paris climate
agreement goal of keeping temperatures well below two degrees.
Environment Secretary said:
Adopting this ambitious target marks the UK as a world leader
in tackling climate change. This deal will reduce global
greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of around 70 billion
tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2050 - the same as more than 600
coal fired power stations would produce during that time.
The UK, along with the rest of the EU, has already begun to
phase down HFCs by 79% between 2015 and 2030.
The Montreal Protocol will result in an additional UK reduction
equivalent to around 44 million tonnes of carbon dioxide
Notes to editors:
- As part of global efforts to tackle climate change, countries
agreed at the Montreal Protocol meeting in Kigali, Rwanda in
October 2016 to phase down the production and use of HFCs.
Developed countries agreed to an 85% phase-down between 2019 and
2036; most developing countries agreed to 80% between 2024 and
2045; and ten developing countries (India, Pakistan, Saudi
Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, The United Arab Emirates,
Iran and Iraq) agreed to 85% between 2028 and 2047.
