A “Cool” Way To Combat Climate Change Under The Montreal Protocol
Thursday July 21, 2016
World climate leaders are meeting this week in Vienna for the next stage of international discussions about a global phase-down of climate-damaging hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
This meeting should lay the foundation for a 2016 amendment to the Montreal Protocol a hugely successful global agreement that has put Earth's fragile ozone layer on track to full restoration. A 2016 amendment would leverage the same proven mechanisms that helped fix the ozone hole†to address another serious risk to the planet HFCs.
When scientists discovered the ozone hole†in the 1980s, they uncovered a tangible health risk to people and the environment. The ozone layer of our upper atmosphere is a natural sunscreen that protects us from harmful ultraviolet rays. A massive and growing hole†in the ozone layer threatened to drive up skin cancer rates, harm marine life, ruin crops and even degrade wood, plastic and other construction materials.
The 1987 Montreal Protocol mandated that countries phase out ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) and similar chemicals used widely at the time for air conditioning and refrigeration. With 197 countries signing on, it was the first UN treaty to achieve universal ratification in the United Nations.
The results have been remarkable. The peak ozone hole has shrunk dramatically by more than four million square kilometers (about the size of India), with a full recovery expected by mid-century. And despite fears of economic disruption, the private sector adjusted cost-effectively.
However, to phase out CFCs, countries needed viable alternatives. As ozone-depleting chemicals were phased out, many sectors began moving toward hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) chemicals that performed well as refrigerants and were significantly healthier for the ozone layer. But like the chemicals they replaced, HFCs are still damaging to our climate system. In fact, they are hundreds to thousands of times more powerful in warming the planet than carbon dioxide. Rapid growth in the use of HFCs threatens to undo much of our progress in reducing other carbon emissions under the Paris Climate Agreement.
It is time to amend the Montreal Protocol and phase down the use of HFCs in air conditioning and refrigeration an urgent priority given the explosive actual and projected growth of air conditioning and refrigeration worldwide.
If we succeed, we could avoid up to 0.5 degree centigrade of warming by the end of the cen...