UN likely to provide $540 million to developing countries for phasing out ozone-depleting chemicals

New Delhi: Developing countries will receive $540 million to continue their work in phasing out ozone-depleting chemicals, according to UN Environment Programme. The funds will be provided by developed countries for three years starting from 2018 through the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol, which has disbursed over $3.7 billion since 1991 to support developing countries to phase out chemicals that destroy the ozone layer. The climate-warming chemicals are hydrochlorofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) used widely used in refrigerators, air-conditioners and aerosol sprays. Montreal Protocol parties made the funding commitment during the joint 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Vienna Convention and the 29th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol that concluded on 24 November in Canada, the UN Environment Programme said in a statement on Monday. The parties also celebrated the 30th anniversary of the ozone-saving treaty during the meeting with high-level participants, including former prime minister of Canada Brian Mulroney. Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna said, “The Montreal Protocol is an example of how we can come together, that we can do what naysayers think is impossible, that we can heal our planet.” At the meeting, there was a demand for energy efficiency. The countries requested the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel of the Montreal Protocol to assess the technology options for enhancing energy efficiency of appliances and equipment in the refrigeration and air-conditioning sectors while phasing down HFCs under the 2016 Kigali Amendment. [caption id=“attachment_4231577” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] They also requested for regular updates on the safety standards relevant to the use of flammable low-global warming potential alternatives to HFCs, in consultation with relevant standardisation organisations. This is crucial for ensuring the safe market introduction, manufacturing, operation, maintenance and handling of low-global-warming potential refrigerants that are used in many sectors. The meeting also urged parties that have not yet ratified the Kigali Amendment to consider doing so in order to achieve the goals. The Amendment, which has so far been ratified by 22 parties, is set to enter into force on January 1, 2019, requiring nearly 200 nations to gradually phase down HFCs by more than 80 per cent over the next 30 years and replace them with more planet-friendly alternatives. Phasing down HFCs under the Protocol is expected to avoid up to 0.5 degree Celsius of global warming by the end of the century, while continuing to protect the ozone layer. “It is through the widest ratification of the Kigali Amendment that we will deliver on its promise of protecting our planet for future generations,” Ozone Secretariat head Tina Birmpili said. For ozone monitoring and observation, the countries also agreed on the need for increased support for research and systematic observations of the ozone layer, as it is through the observations that scientists can monitor the recovery of the ozone layer and the interaction between ozone and climate. The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was endorsed in October 2016 after seven years of negotiations by 197 countries gathered in the Rwandan capital of Kigali and was named the Kigali Amendment.