Finishing the job: The Montreal Protocol moves to phase down hydrofluorocarbons

• Author: Mark W. Roberts
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/reel.12225
• Date: 01 November 2017
• Published date: 01 November 2017

SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLE

Finishing the job: The Montreal Protocol moves to phase

down hydrofluorocarbons

Mark W. Roberts

Correspondence

Email: mroberts@mcrobertslaw.com In October 2016, parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the

Ozone Layer unanimously agreed to amend the Protocol to allow for the phase-

down of the super greenhouse gases hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The Kigali Amend-

ment is expected to mitigate 70–100 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents by

2050, and prevent up to 0.5 degrees Celsius increase in the Earth’s temperature by

2100. Prioritizing energy-efficient technologies in the refrigeration and air condition-

ing sector could potentially double these mitigation gains. By phasing down HFCs,

the Montreal Protocol will be able to restore the ozone layer without exacerbating

global climate change.

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INTRODUCTION

After eight years of negotiations, all 197 parties to the Montreal

Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal

Protocol)

1

agreed in October 2016 to phase down hydrofluorocar-

bons (HFCs)

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and to transition to low-global warming potential

(GWP) and energy-efficient substitutes.

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The phase-down of HFCs

through the Kigali Amendment is expected to cost-effectively miti-

gate greenhouse gas emissions and have near-term impacts due the

short atmospheric lives of these gases.

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By phasing down HFCs, the

Montreal Protocol can restore the ozone layer without exacerbating

global climate change.

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Immediate, ambitious and achievable actions must be taken to

reduce the radiative forcing of greenhouse gases being emitted into

the atmosphere. The phase-down of HFCs is the fastest and most

cost-effective means to mitigate climate change that can be imple-

mented in the near term.

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The world is rapidly approaching the

levels of greenhouse gases that will cause 2°C of global warming,

which parties to the Paris Agreement under the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) with scientific

support have established as the threshold to avoid the most danger-

ous impacts of climate change.

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Disaggregated actions are necessary

if we are going to reverse climate change.

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The procedures and insti-

tutions created for the phase-out of ozone-depleting substances

(ODS) make the Protocol well-suited to implement the HFC phase-

down approved last year in Kigali. By addressing HFCs, the Montreal

Protocol helps ensure that the restoration of the ozone layer does

not come at the expense of the global climate.

The Montreal Protocol was established to restore the ozone

layer, and has been at the forefront of multilateral efforts to address

global environmental issues for the past three decades.

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In the pro-

cess of phasing out ODS, the Montreal Protocol until recently did

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1

Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (adopted 16 September

1987, entered into force 1 January 1989) 1522 UNTS 3.

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HFCs are used in 200 industrial sectors, most commonly for refrigerants in refrigeration

and air conditioning, as foam-blowing agents, fire suppressants and solvents. See United

States (US) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), ‘Questions and Answers about Alterna-

tives in Each Sector’<https://www.epa.gov/snap/questions-and-answers-about-alternatives-

each-sector>.

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Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer

(adopted 15 October 2016, not yet in force) <https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/CN/

2016/CN.872.2016-Eng.pdf>.

4

D Kaniaru et al, ‘Strengthening the Montreal Protocol: Insurance against Abrupt Change’in

D Kaniaru (ed), Montreal Protocol: Celebrating 20 Years of Environmental Progress (Cameron

May 2007) 165, 165–166.

5

MW Roberts and PM Gabriel, ‘A Window of Opportunity: Combating Climate Change by

Amending the Montreal Protocol to Regulate the Production and Consumption of HFCs

and ODS Banks’(2009) 22 Georgetown International Environmental Law Review 99.

6

C Kelly and H Brown, ‘4 Ways World Leaders Can Win at the Climate Leaders Summit’

(Center for American Progress, 8 July 2009) <http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/gree

n/news/2014/07/08/93383/4-ways-world-leaders-can-win-at-the-climate-leaders-summit/>.

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Paris Agreement to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

(adopted 22 April 2016, entered into force 4 November 2016) <http://unfccc.int/files/

essential_background/convention/application/pdf/english_paris_agreement.pdf>.

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K Kulovesi and K Kein€

anen, ‘Long-Term Climate Policy: International Legal Aspects of

Sector-Based Approaches’(2006) 6 Climate Policy 313.

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See ‘28th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol’(2016) <http://conf.montreal-

protocol.org/meeting/mop/mop-28/SitePages/Home.aspx>.

DOI: 10.1111/reel.12225

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wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/reel RECIEL. 2017;26:220–230.