Context

According to a World Bank report –

• Climate change could cost India 2.8 per cent of GDP, and depress living standards of nearly half of its population by 2050, as average annual temperatures are expected to rise by 1-2 per cent over three decades.

A number of factors are causing climate change and the efforts to address them have been manifold.

Among a number of factors causing climate change, large-scale use of environmentally damaging refrigerants (especially Hydrofluorocarbons) is one of the key areas identified, with a direct impact on the depletion of the ozone layer and subsequently on global warming.

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)

• HFCs have many everyday applications. These include refrigerants to cool cars, appliances and buildings, foam-blowing agents that create cushioning and insulating foam, solvents used in manufacturing to clean and sanitise, and certain specialty propellants used in products like aerosols.
• When HFCs are released into the atmosphere, they trap GHGs with significant global-warming-potential (GWP) and take years, sometimes decades, to break down in the atmosphere—thus contributing to the overall warming of the planet.
• Replacing high GWP HFCs with low-GWP HFO alternatives could help avoid up to 0.5°C of warming by the end of this century.

Kigali Amendment

• The Kigali Amendment, an amendment to the 1987 Montreal Protocol, aims to phase out high-global-warming-potential hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a family of potent greenhouse gases (GHG), by late 2040s.
• India was part of a historic global climate deal that was reached in Kigali, Rwanda, at the 28th Meeting of the Parties (MoP28) to the Montreal Protocol, on substances that deplete the ozone layer.
• Under this amendment, 197 countries, including India, agreed to a timeline to reduce the use of HFCs by 80-85% of their baselines over the next several decades.

The Kigali Amendment provides a significant opportunity to live up to the promise of better environment.

It highlights the need to develop new technologies and transition to the use of more environmentally preferable alternatives.

Important value additions:

A global climate deal was reached in Kigali, Rwanda at the Twenty-Eighth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (MOP28).

The Kigali Agreement amends the 1987 Montreal Protocol that aims to phase out Hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs), a family of potent greenhouse gases by the late 2040s.

• It is a legally binding agreement between the signatory parties with non-compliance measures.
• It will come into effect from 1st January 2019 provided it is ratified by at least 20-member parties by then.
• It has shown a considerable flexibility in approach while setting phase-down targets for different economies accommodating their developmental aspirations, different socio-economic compulsions, and scientific & technological capabilities.

It has divided the signatory parties into three groups-

• The first group consists of rich and developed economies like USA, UK and EU countries who will start to phase down HFCs by 2019 and reduce it to 15% of 2012 levels by 2036.
• The second group consists of emerging economies like China, Brazil as well as some African countries that will start phase down by 2024 and reduce it to 20% of 2021 levels by 2045.
• The third group consists of developing economies and some of the hottest climatic countries like India, Pakistan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia who will start phasing down HFCs by 2028 and reduce it to 15% of 2024-2026 levels till 2047.

It also has a provision for a multilateral fund for developing countries for adaptation and mitigation.

The Technology and Energy Assessment Panel (TEAP) will take a periodic review of the alternative technologies and products for their energy efficiency and safety standards.

India’s position:

• India is the world’s fourth-largest emitter of CO2.
• According to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the share of space cooling in peak electricity load is projected to rise sharply in India, from 10% today to 45% in 2050.
• Government has recognised the importance of lowering the country’s GHG emissions as part of an international effort to limit global warming.
• Govt and NITI Aayog are working towards an India Cooling Action Plan, meant to meet the country’s growing cooling needs in a climate-friendly manner. One of the key focus areas in the Action Plan is in-room air conditioners (ACs).

Conclusion:

Successful implementation of the Kigali amendment will require a high level of national cooperation from our government, along with industry, research institutes and regulators coming together in sustaining efforts.

A cleaner and healthier environment, along with improvements in quality of life, can all support a world of increasing action on climate change.

India has been a key partner in the quest for reducing emissions and should continue to take the lead in efforts to protect the planet from climate change.