Phasing Down HFCs
Phasing down HFCs under the Montreal Protocol
The Montreal Protocol has proven to be innovative and successful, and is the first treaty to achieve universal ratification by all countries in the world. Leveraging global participation, the Montreal Protocol Parties have placed the ozone layer that was in extreme peril on a path to repair, and prevented widespread devastating impacts such as increased incidence of skin cancer, damage to agricultural crops, and disruption of marine ecosystems. By 2035, the Parties will have eliminated the vast majority of ozone depleting substances globally. And, because most of these substances are also potent climate gases, this phase-out has also been a huge success in slowing global warming.
The development of alternatives to ozone depleting substances have been instrumental to saving the ozone layer, but are not without their challenges. HFCs are widely used alternatives to ozone depleting substances such as hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that will now be phased out under the Montreal Protocol. Many HFCs are also potent climate gases, so while an improvement over their predecessors, the global community has more work to do to ensure that our refrigeration, air conditioning, insulation, and other common uses for HFCs do not contribute to future climate change.
Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Phasing Down HFCs
On October 14, 2016, the Montreal Protocol adopted an amendment to phase down the use of hydrofluorocarbons worldwide. This ambitious amendment continues the momentum of the Paris Agreement on climate change and is a critically important step in protecting our planet.