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Kigali shows the way

Treaty to phase out harmful refrigerant gases is timed well

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Business Standard Editorial Comment New Delhi
Last Updated : Oct 18 2016 | 9:45 PM IST
The signing of the global deal on phasing out the use of refrigerant gases injurious to the environment at Kigali in Rwanda marks the second move in quick succession towards mitigating global warming. Earlier, the Paris agreement on climate change was ratified by the requisite number of countries to come into force on November 4, three days before the next round of global climate talks at Marrakesh. At Kigali, India consented to advance the baseline for measuring the reduction in the use of climate damaging refrigerants, notably hydro-fluorocarbons (HFCs), by four years to 2024-26 from its earlier offer of 2028-30. India had to concede considerable ground from its earlier stance to facilitate crafting of the Kigali pact, though the flexibility shown by it on this count has won it wide acclaim from negotiators and environmentalists alike.

Switching over to safer alternatives for HFCs will involve huge costs as almost all of them are protected by patents and, hence, are several times costlier. Worse, the refrigeration industry may have to shoulder the bulk of these costs as India's plea - that the developed countries bear the full expenses of the transition - was turned down. Only the incremental costs may be met by global funding support. This obviously does not bode well for a predominantly warm country like India with a middle and lower middle class aspiring to begin using cooling devices such as refrigerators and air-conditioners.

Nevertheless, the Kigali pact on abandoning HFCs is in several respects more potent than even the Paris accord on reducing the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs). For one, this accord forms part of the Montreal protocol, the single most successful international agreement that has not only achieved its goal of stemming the damage to the earth's protective ozone layer but also has gone a step further to initiate its recovery. Besides, unlike the Paris pact, the Kigali treaty is legally binding and outlines a firm timetable for discontinuing the use of HFCs, which, even if not ozone-depleting substances, are super pollutants with the capacity to heat the atmosphere thousands of times more than GHGs such as carbon dioxide (CO2). Their elimination can avert a rise of around 0.5°C in the projected average temperature in 2100.

Importantly, the Kigali treaty has categorised nearly 200 participating countries into three groups, instead of the developed and developing nations distinction, taking into account their level of economic development, and production and consumption of HFCs. The phase-out schedule for them has been drawn up more or less on the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities. India has been placed in the specially devised new group, instead of being clubbed with China, as a fast emerging economy. India belongs to the group, which also includes Iran, Iraq and Pakistan, that has been given a relatively greater leeway of 12 years to begin trimming HFCs and finally lessen them by 85 per cent by 2047. In contrast, the group comprising developed nations such as the US, Japan and those in western Europe has to begin slashing HFCs from 2019 and achieve the 85 per cent reduction by 2036. The third group of China, South Africa, Brazil and others is stipulated to start the phasing out process from 2024 and realise an 80 per cent cut by 2045. Thus, the Kigali treaty has the potential to slow down global warming remarkably and help achieve the Paris accord's goal of containing the rise of global temperature to below 2°C.

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First Published: Oct 18 2016 | 9:45 PM IST

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