Kigali Amendment

The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol is an international agreement to gradually reduce the consumption and production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). It is a legally binding agreement designed to create rights and obligations in international law.^[2]

Kigali Amendment

Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol
_ Ratified, accepted or approved _ Covered by European Union's ratification but has not ratified independently
Type	Environmental protection agreement
Context	Montreal Protocol (1985)
Signed	October 15, 2016 (2016-10-15)^[1]
Location	Kigali, Rwanda
Effective	January 1, 2019 (2019-01-01)
Parties	148

The Montreal Protocol was originally created to preserve and restore the ozone layer; participating countries agreed to phase out chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), gases that had been causing ozone depletion. HFCs do not contain chlorine, so they do not cause ozone depletion, and therefore have been replacing CFCs under the Protocol.^[3] However, HFCs are powerful greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change,^[4] so this amendment adds HFCs to the list of chemicals that countries promise to phase down.^[5]

As of February 26, 2023, 147 states^[6] and the European Union^[7] have ratified the Kigali Amendment.

The concentration of HFCs in the atmosphere at weather stations around the world.

Background

Many industrial products, including refrigerants^[8] and other cooling services, use HFCs.^[9]

Originally, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were used in these applications, but the deleterious effect of these gases on the ozone layer was revealed in 1974 by Paul J. Crutzen, Mario Molina, and F. Sherwood Rowland.^[10] The Montreal Protocol was signed in 1987 by the 20 major CFC producers and came into effect in 1989; since 1987, all 197 member states of the United Nations, among others, have ratified the Protocol. HFCs have since largely replaced CFCs.^[11]

 

An HFC refrigerant.

Although HFCs are harmless to the ozone layer, they are potent greenhouse gases.^[12] While their lifespan in the atmosphere is short (10 to 20 years) relative to carbon dioxide (CO₂), HFCs filter infrared waves much more powerfully. HFCs are therefore thousands of times more heat-trapping than CO₂,^[13] with a global warming potential (GWP) of 12 to 14,800.^[14] Eliminating emissions of these gases could significantly lower the effects of global warming and avoid a full 0.5 degree Celsius of warming above preindustrial levels by the end of the century.^[15]

Details of the amendment

Article 5 of the Montreal Protocol created separate standards for developing countries and non-developing.^[16] Whether a country was categorized as developing or non-developing depended on individual economic conditions at the time of the agreement or pending special request.^[17] Because the Protocol was created in the 1980s and countries economic situations have changed, the Kigali Amendment created three updated groups for compliance with the additional terms.^[18]

The first group, which includes the "old" industrialized countries, is committed to reducing the use of HFCs by 45% by 2024 and by 85% by 2036, compared to their use between 2011 and 2013. A second group, which includes China and Brazil, is committed to reducing its consumption by 80% by 2045. Finally, this deadline is extended to 2047 for the rest of the countries, including India and a number of countries in the Middle East,^[19] which are large consumers of air conditioning.

In addition, parties that experience monthly average temperatures over 35 degrees Celsius for at least two months per year, over a period of 10 consecutive years, may request a waiver.^[20][a]

Reception to the amendment

Environmentalist website TreeHugger urged then-President of the United States Donald Trump to ask the United States Senate to ratify the amendment.^[21]

Adoption of the amendment

Notes

1. These countries are: Algeria, Bahrain, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Togo, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates.

References

1. "The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer". United States Department of State. December 9, 2022. from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022. On October 15, 2016, Parties to the Montreal Protocol adopted the Kigali Amendment...
2. "Briefing Note on Ratification of the Kigali Amendment" (PDF). United Nations Environment Programme Ozone Secretariat. February 2017. (PDF) from the original on October 2, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2019. The Amendment is not legally binding on a party until it enters into force for that party.
3. "Thirty years on, what is the Montreal Protocol doing to protect the ozone?". United Nations Environment Programme. November 15, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
4. "The Montreal Protocol evolves to fight climate change". United Nations Industrial Development Organization. January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
5. Dillon, Jeremy (September 20, 2022). "Kigali climate treaty clears Senate hurdle". E&E News. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
6. https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=IND&mtdsg_no=XXVII-2-f&chapter=27
7. "Kigali Amendment hits milestone 100th ratification, boosting climate action". United Nations Environment Programme. July 14, 2020. from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
8. Chime, Vivian (September 16, 2022). "FG unveils 'cooling action plan' to reduce emissions from refrigerants". TheCable. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
9. Sandefur, Jason (July 17, 2020). "UN Agency Urges Quick Shift to Environmentally Friendly Cooling". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
10. Roan, Shari (March 12, 2012). "F. Sherwood Rowland dies at 84; UC Irvine professor won Nobel Prize". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
11. McGrath, Matt (October 15, 2016). "Climate change: 'Monumental' deal to cut HFCs, fastest growing greenhouse gases". BBC News. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
12. Benshoff, Laura (September 20, 2022). "The U.S. ratifies treaty to phase down HFCs, gases trapping 1,000x more heat than CO2". Boise State Public Radio. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
13. Denning, Scott (September 22, 2022). "US Senate ratifies treaty to phase down climate-warming HFCs from refrigerators and air conditioners – but what will replace them this time?". The Conversation. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
14. Cariaso, Bella (September 17, 2022). "PH begins 3rd stage to phase out ODS". The Manila Times. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
15. Velders GJ, Fahey DW, Daniel JS, McFarland M, Andersen SO (July 2009). "The large contribution of projected HFC emissions to future climate forcing". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 106 (27): 10949–54. Bibcode:2009PNAS..10610949V. doi:10.1073/pnas.0902817106. PMC 2700150. PMID 19549868.
16. Montreal Protocol, Article 5
17. "Handbook for the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer" (PDF). p. 735.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
18. Section 5.8, Article 1. "Handbook for the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer" (PDF). p.920-922
19. "The decision and its annex state that Bahrain, India, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE will use a baseline averaging their calculated levels of HFC consumption for the years 2024, 2025, and 2026, plus 65% of their baseline consumption of HCFCs."  Earth Negotiations Bulletin (PDF). p10.
20. "Decision XXVIII/2: Decision related to the amendment phasing down hydrofluorocarbons". Appendix II: List of countries operating under the high-ambient-temperature exemption.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
21. Alter, Lloyd (October 11, 2018). "Kilgali Amendment Would Phase Out Climate-Changing HFC Refrigerants. Will Trump Ratify It?". TreeHugger. from the original on May 19, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2022.