Context: Recently, Union Cabinet has given its approval for ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer for phase down of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

Key Changes

• India recently stated that it will draw up a national strategy for the phase-down of HFCs by the year 2023 in “consultation with all industry stakeholders”. 
• It said that existing domestic laws that govern the implementation of the Montreal Protocol would be amended by the middle of 2024 to facilitate the HFC phase-down. 
• India’s reductions have to begin only after 2028.

About the Kigali Amendment

• It named after the Rwadan capital where it was negotiated, enables the phase-out of hydrofluorocarbons, a set of chemicals notorious for their capacity to warm the planet.
• The 2016 amendment was seen as one of the most important breakthroughs in the global efforts to fight climate change, because; 
• The HFCs, a set of 19 gases used extensively in the air-conditioning and refrigerant industry, are known to be hundreds, even thousands, of times more potent than carbon dioxide in their ability to cause global warming. 
• It is estimated that a complete phase-out of HFCs by 2050 would prevent about 0.5 degrees Celsius rise in global temperatures by the end of this century.
• This important instrument, therefore, is crucial to achieving the target of restraining the increase in global temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times. 
• As pointed out by a recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the average temperatures of the planet have already risen by about 1.1 degrees Celsius.

The reason behind ratifying the amendments

• It comes close on the heels of similar decisions by the United States and China, the world’s largest producers and consumers of HFCs. 

According to a recent factsheet issued by Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a US-based environmental organisation, and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), 

• 122 countries had ratified the Kigali Amendment by the end of July.
• Under the Kigali amendment, the United States, China and India are in a separate group of countries, with different time schedules to phase out their HFCs and replace them with climate-friendly alternatives. 
• Target: To achieve over 80% reduction in HFC consumption by 2047 which will curb a global increase of temperature by up to 0.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.
• India: India will complete its phase-down of HFCs in four steps from 2032 onwards with a cumulative reduction of 10% in 2032, 20% in 2037, 30% in 2042 and 80% in 2047.

Plans by other countries

• Different countries have different phase down plans under the Protocol. The developed countries including the US, Canada, west European nations and Japan will reduce HFC use first, followed by China and then by 10 developing countries including India, Iran, Iraq and Pakistan.

Expected Benefits of HFCs Phasedown

• Emission reduction: Hydrofluorocarbons phasedown is expected to prevent the emission of up to 105 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent of greenhouse gases, helping to avoid up to 0.5 degrees Celsius of global temperature rise by 2100, while continuing to protect the ozone layer.
• Scope for domestic manufacturing: There would be scope for domestic manufacturing of equipment as well as alternative non-HFC and low-global warming potential chemicals. In addition, there would be opportunities to promote domestic innovation for new generation alternative refrigerants and related technologies.