The Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol is an international agreement to gradually reduce the consumption and production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The amendment was accepted at the 28th meeting of the parties to the Montreal Protocol in Kigali on October 15, 2016. In Decision XXVIII/1, they adopted an amendment to the protocol (the Kigali amendment). [1] Under the amendment, all countries will gradually reduce HFCs by more than 80% over the next 30 years and replace them with more environmentally friendly alternatives. A certain group of industrialized countries will begin to gradually become debt-ridted in 2019. Several developing countries will freeze consumption of CFCs in 2024, followed by other countries in 2028. The schedule for progressive planning is detailed here. The amendment also contains agreements on CFC destruction technologies, data reporting requirements and capacity-building provisions for developing countries. [UNEP press release] The Kigali Amendment is a legally binding international agreement[2] that aims to create rights and obligations in international law. The amendment is legally binding on a contracting party only if it has come into force with respect to that party.
The need for the amendment stems from the 1987 Montreal Protocol, which controls ozone-depleting substances. Because CFCs have been used as an alternative to ozone-depleting substances in refrigeration facilities, their role in global warming has become a major problem. In 2016, the parties to the Montreal Protocol adopted the CFC Convention concluding the 28th Meeting of the Parties (MOP 28) in Kigali, Rwanda. Governments have agreed that it will come into force on January 1, 2019, provided that at least 20 parties to the Montreal Protocol have ratified it. On 17 November 2017, Sweden and Trinidad and Tobago tabled their ratification instruments, exceeding the required threshold. Nairobi, 14 July 2020 – The Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement to reduce the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), has reached an important milestone: Liberia is the 100th country to ratify the amendment and provide a welcome boost to the global fight against climate change. However, if these gases save the ozone layer, they are powerful greenhouse gases. Their lifespan in the atmosphere is quite short, but they filter the infrared very strongly: for example, the HFC-23 has a global warming potential (PRG) at 100 years 12400. [5] It therefore appears that the elimination of emissions of these gases could significantly limit and limit global warming in the short term. The measures proposed under the amendment will help reduce the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons, powerful greenhouse gases, thus preventing global warming of up to 0.4oC over the course of this century. More fact sheets are being developed and will be available soon. The amendment also provides for the establishment and implementation of a system for authorizing the import and export of new, used, recycled and recovered regulated substances.
The amendment introduces an import and export ban on CFCs for all states not parties to the Montreal Protocol, which will come into effect on January 1, 2033.
