The Montreal Protocol
Context:
- In a new type of case, California man is facing criminal charges in a San Diego court for smuggling, not illegal drugs or weapons, but greenhouse gases (GHGs).
- These greenhouse gases, some of which are used in cooling appliances such as air conditioners and refrigerators, trap heat in the atmosphere and add to global warming.
- Hart (The man who is facing charges) smuggled or illegally sold dozens of canisters of the refrigerants in mid-to-late 2022, and claimed that he could import 15-20 “tanks” a week.
What were these banned refrigerants?
- The refrigerants in question are hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and they are a form of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), known as HCFC 22.
- HFCs and HCFCs became mainstream in the debate after emerging as an alternative to chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the 1990s.
- For long of part of time, CFCs were widely used in refrigerants for ACs and fridges.
- However research published in 1985, confirmed that increased levels of CFCs in the atmosphere were responsible for abnormally low ozone concentrations above Antarctica, which resulted in the so-called ozone hole.
- In 1987 nearly all the countries signed the Montreal Protocol, agreeing to freeze the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances, including CFCs, at then current rates.
About Montreal Protocol:
- The Montreal Protocol which was finalized in 1987, is a global agreement to protect the stratospheric ozone layer by phasing out the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances (ODS).
- Ozone-depleting substances are substances that were commonly used in products such as refrigerators, air conditioners, fire extinguishers, and aerosols.
- The United States ratified the Montreal Protocol in 1988 and has also joined all five of the Protocol’s subsequent amendments.
KIGALI AMENDMENT TO THE MONTREAL PROTOCOL:
- In the year 2016, Parties to the Montreal Protocol adopted the Kigali Amendment to phase down production and also consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) worldwide.
- HFCs are widely used alternatives to ODS which include hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are already controlled under the Protocol.
- HFCs are actually powerful greenhouse gases, and global implementation of the Kigali Amendment is expected to avoid up to half a degree Celsius of temperature rise by 2100.
- The United States played a crucial leadership role in the adoption of the Kigali Amendment in the year 2016.
- Extensive U.S. diplomacy in the years leading up to the Amendment’s adoption created the international political support which was needed to reach a consensus to add phase down obligations on HFCs to the Montreal Protocol.
- The United States ratified the Kigali Amendment in 2022.
