OSLO/WASHINGTON, October 9 (Reuters): India will face pressure to speed up its plans for cutting greenhouse gases used in refrigerators, air conditioning and aerosols when governments meet this week to hammer out what would be a third key deal to limit climate change in a month.
About 150 nations meet in Rwanda, from Oct. 10-14 to try to agree a phase down of factory-made hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) gases. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will be among those attending.
A quick phase-down of HFCs could be a big contribution to slow climate change, avoiding perhaps 0.5 degree Celsius (0.9 Fahrenheit) of a projected rise in average temperatures by 2100, scientists say.
But India wants a peak in poor nations’ rising emissions only in 2031, to give industries time to adapt. More than 100 other nations including the United States, the European Union and African states, favour a peak in 2021.
“It really does matter how early the agreement kicks in,” said Jake Schmidt, of the U.S. Natural Resources Defense Council, which reckons India’s proposal would add the equivalent of almost a year of global carbon emissions to the atmosphere.
“We must get enough time before the phasing out period starts. We are very clear,” Indian Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave said on Oct. 1, according to the Times of India.
Use of HFCs, which can be 10,000 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as greenhouse gases, is already declining in many rich nations.
An HFC accord would be the third big step this month to curb global warming after the 2015 Paris Agreement for a global shift from fossil fuels gained enough backing to enter into force and governments agreed a deal to limit emissions from aviation.
President Barack Obama, hailing the Paris Agreement at the White House last week, said HFCs and aviation would also help “build a world that is safer and more prosperous and more secure”.
The U.S. president has been keen to secure global climate agreements, meant to limit rising sea levels, droughts, floods and heatwaves, as part of his legacy.
Last month, 16 governments including the United States, Japan and Germany and private donors such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates agreed an $80 million fund to help an early phase down of HFCs, hoping to persuade developing nations to sign up. Many industries are already moving.
“Unlikely as it may seem, a global HFC phase-down is backed both by leading environmental groups and the industry that makes and uses these chemicals,” said Frank Maisano, of the U.S. Air-conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute which represents companies such as Carrier Corp or Honeywell.
“We and many others in the industry have started to phase out HFCs. But the process is not completed,” said Daniel Frykholm, spokesman for Sweden’s Electrolux which wants to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 from 2005 levels.
The HFC talks are part of the 1987 Montreal Protocol, which succeeded in cutting the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) to help protect the ozone layer, which shields the planet from ultraviolet rays that can cause skin cancer.
But the HFCs that have often replaced them, while better for the ozone layer, are powerful greenhouse gases.
Experts say India should take lead in amending Montreal Protocol
New Delhi, October 9 (IANS): With India ratifying the world's first comprehensive climate agreement earlier this month, another global treaty that eventually aims to phase out a heat-trapping substance -- hydrofluorocarbons or HFCs - and replace them with climate-friendly alternatives, will require India's leadership role, say environmentalists.
Ahead of the entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change, which is set to take place on November 4, the 28th meeting of the Parties to the 1989 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer will be held in Rwandan capital Kigali from October 10 to 14 to freeze an agreement as early as 2025-26 to eventually eliminate the use of HFCs, commonly used in air-conditioners.
"We're looking to India and other world leaders to show greater flexibility on reaching an amendment to phase down HFCs," Nehmat Kaur, who is India representative of the Natural Resources Defense Council, told IANS.
"There is an economic case for countries, including India, to advance its timeframe for the phase-down. The new $80 million dollar fund is a strong signal for early action. Things are looking positive for a strong and ambitious amendment this week," she added.
However, an official with the Union Environment Ministry hinted that India, which has not opened its cards so far, may advance its deadline to phase out HFCs.
"India might advance the time-frame during negotiations for phasing out HFCs to somewhere like 2025-26, instead of the previous deadline of 2031, if the developed nations pledge adequate funding to the developing nations, including India, for research and development of low global warming potential alternatives," said the official.
Experts say though HFCs -- the refrigeration and air-conditioning coolants -- do not harm the ozone layer, but have a high global warming potential.
Their elimination will ultimately help avoiding an up to 0.5 degree Celsius rise in global temperature by the end of the century and will significantly contribute towards the global goal of staying well below two degrees.
Ahead of the Kigali meet, India has put forward its own proposal for amendment that mainly advocates adequate funding for research and development to the developing nations for smooth technological transition without any delay.
In India, it will cost 12 billion euros (Rs 90,000 crore) to shift from HFCs to the greener gases between 2015 and 2050, the New Delhi-based think-tank Council on Energy, Environment and Water said on September 27.
Officials of the Environment Ministry say India will advocate for adequate multilateral funds for the developing countries for smooth and speedy technological transition at the Montreal Protocol talks.
An indication in this regard was given Special Secretary in the ministry R.R. Rashmi on September 27, who said: "There are different estimates as to what it will cost to make the switch. But, we must emphasise in Kigali that the commitment of donor countries has to be absolute and this assurance is necessary to fulfil any commitments India makes."
In the July negotiations in Vienna, over 100 countries opted to freeze HFC growth by 2021. China, the world's largest HFC producer, suggested starting the freeze in 2025 or 2026, while India advocated 2031.
In 2013, India's consumption of HFCs, which are up to 10,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide and are the fastest-growing greenhouse gases in the world, was 1.6 percent of the global consumption.
Ahead of the Kigali negotiations, 19 global foundations together contributed $53 million and other $27 million came from a few countries for the multilateral fund to be used for smooth transition from HFCs by the developing nations and directed towards energy efficiency efforts.
Corporate giant Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co Ltd is the only Indian company that funds donations for the multilateral fund.
Eleven senators, in a missive to US Secretary of State John Kerry on October 7, said: "A successful agreement negotiated in Kigali is critical to help meet the goals agreed to in Paris, and we encourage you to take advantage of this important opportunity to create a more sustainable future."
The Montreal Protocol was designed to protect the ozone layer by reducing the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances. It was agreed to on September 16, 1987, and entered into force on January 1, 1989.
Since then it has banned the use of several ozone-depleting substances, including chlorofluorocarbons, a substitute to HFCs.
