India at Montreal Protocol Meet

The 28th meeting of Parties to the Montreal Protocol officially opens in Kigali, with more than 1000 delegates from different countries and organisations are attending for a new global agreement on climate change. The 1978 Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer is widely regarded to be one of “the most successful environmental treaties ever” and was the first treaty to

achieve universal ratification. The global agreement has put the stratospheric ozone layer on a path to recovery through measures to control production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances.

Experts have warned that failure to amend the protocol could increase risks of skin cancer and global warming.

A breakthrough in the ongoing negotiations among the Parties to the Montreal Protocol will see a global agreement on the phasing down of consumption and production of hydrofluorocarbons, a potent greenhouse gas mainly used in refrigeration systems.

India played a crucial role in the ongoing negotiations on the Montreal Protocol by favouring two baseline years for bringing down the consumption of HFC by the developing countries — provided the developed world “agrees to reduce its consumption by 70 percent by 2027”.

India also demanded transparency and more clarity for the allocation of funds to help developing countries for research and development for smooth technological transition without any delay.

India’s lead negotiator Manoj Kumar Singh, Joint Secretary with the Ministry of Environment and Forests, at meeting said India proposed two baseline years for the developing countries to freeze their consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), used in air-conditioners and refrigerators. The baseline year should either be 2024-26 or as early as 2020-22. But the developed world should have 70 percent reductions by 2027.

In the past, India, a major player in the ongoing negotiations, had proposed a baseline for developing countries as average consumption of HFCs in 2028-30.

The baseline is the maximum quantity of HFCs that a country can consume in a year. Freeze year is the year in which its baseline consumption has to be reached. After that, the countries have to start reducing HFC consumption from the baseline.

India also sought China, the world’s largest HFC producer, to take more responsibility by pledging to cut its production and consumption earlier than other developing countries.

Experts say though HFCs do not harm the ozone layer, they 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.