International.
Close to the crucial meeting of the Montreal Protocol, political pressure to reach an agreement on the phase-out of HFCs is mounting.
Three important statements made on September 22 in New York contribute to the sense of expectation surrounding the meeting, which will take place in Kigali in the second week of October.
"The New York Declaration of the Coalition to Obtain an Ambitious HFC Amendment" saw more than 100 countries require the Montreal Protocol to modify the phase-out of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). "Such a modification is one of the most important steps the world can take right now to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement," the Declaration reads.
Leaders gathered for the event, hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry, pledged to provide an additional $27 million in 2017 for the Multilateral Fund – provided the ambitious modification is agreed at the October meeting in Rwanda.
The second statement came from donor countries and philanthropic organizations that together have committed more than $80 million to help developing countries reduce HFCs.
Following the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which was signed on 22 April 2016, the 28th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Kigali could result in a phase-out agreement on HFCs capable of reducing expected global warming by up to 0.5°C.
The three states put a great deal of pressure on policymakers who will attend the Kigali meeting to come up with a proactive and ambitious plan. The supporting force of the entire political and business spectrum for an ambitious downward phase would seem to indicate that a far-reaching agreement is likely.
