Countries across the world have taken what has been described as “critical steps” toward their goal to agree on a global phasedown of HFCs.

The parties to the Montreal Protocol meeting in Vienna have reached agreement on solutions to all the identified challenges, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported. These include “substantial simplification” of the range of baseline proposals, agreement to hold another meeting to drive towards closure this year, and calling on the UN Technology and Economic Assessment Panel to research the various proposals’ climate benefits and costs.

The U.S. delegation led by Secretary of State John Kerry said it succeeded in “laying the groundwork for adoption of an ambitious HFC amendment at the 28th Meeting of the Parties in Kigali, Rwanda this October.”

The EPA underlined the importance of the phasedown decision, saying, “This single step could avoid up to 0.5 degrees Celsius of warming by 2100… Since an HFC amendment is the single biggest step the world can take to deliver on the goals of the Paris Agreement to hold warming well below 2 degrees Celsius, the administration will remain committed to working with all parties to complete these negotiations in Kigali.”

Content for the European Spotlight is provided courtesy of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Magazine, London. For more information, visit www.racplus.com.

Publication date: 8/8/2016

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