Kigali Amendment to the 1989 Montreal Protocol – INSIGHTSIAS

by

[ad_1]

GS Paper 3

Topics Covered: Conservation and pollution related issues.

 

1989 Montreal Protocol

Context:

India has decided to ratify Kigali Amendment, a key amendment to the Montreal Protocol.

 

What is Kigali Amendment?

  • Negotiated in the Rwandan capital in October 2016.
  • The amendment has already come into force from the start of 2019.
  • It enables the gradual phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, a family of chemicals used extensively in the air-conditioning, refrigeration and furnishing foam industry.

 

Goals under Kigali Amendment:

  • Before the middle of this century, current HFC use has to be curtailed by at least 85 per cent. Countries have different timelines to do this.
  • India has to achieve this target by 2047 while the developed countries have to do it by 2036. China and some other countries have a target of 2045.
  • While the reductions for the rich countries have to begin immediately, India, and some other countries, have to begin cutting their HFC use only from 2031.

 

Significance and the expected outcomes:

  • If implemented successfully, the Kigali Amendment is expected to prevent about 0.5°C rise in global warming by the end of this century.
  • No other single intervention to cut greenhouse gas emissions comes even close to this in terms of returns offered and the ease of implementation.
  • It is thus considered crucial to achieving the Paris Agreement target of restricting temperature rise to within 2°C from pre-industrial times.

 

What are hydrofluorocarbons?

HFCs are known to be much worse than carbon dioxide in causing global warming.

In fact, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the average global warming potential of 22 of the most used HFCs is about 2,500 times that of carbon dioxide.

 

About Montreal Protocol:

  • The 1989 Montreal Protocol is meant to protect the ozone layer of the upper atmosphere.
  • The Protocol mandated the complete phase-out of CFCs and other ozone-depleting substances (ODS), which it has successfully managed to do in the last three decades.

 

What are the concerns now?

  • CFCs were gradually replaced, first by HCFCs, or hydrochlorofluorocarbons, in some cases, and eventually by HFCs which have minimal impact on the ozone layer.
  • The transition from HCFCs to HFCs is still happening, particularly in the developing world.
  • HFCs, though benign to the ozone layer, were powerful greenhouse gases.
  • If left unabated, their contribution to annual greenhouse gas emissions is expected to reach up to 19% by 2050.

 

Insta Curious:

Did you know that the 20-year ‘India Cooling Action Plan’, or ICAP, released in 2019, describes cooling as a “developmental need”? Know more about ICAP here.

 

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

  1. About the Kigali Amendment.
  2. Targets.
  3. HFCs vs HCFCs.
  4. About Montreal Protocol.
  5. About ODS.

Mains Link:

Discuss the significance of Kigali Amendment to Montreal Protocol.

Sources: Indian Express.

[ad_2]

Leave a Comment