A new initiative to cut theuse of climate warming gases used in Refrigeration and Air conditioning units will be launched at a UN climate summit in Abu Dhabi this weekend.
A combination of countries and leading multinationals will present plans to phase out the hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), gases with warming potentials thousands of times stronger than carbondioxide.
If left unchecked, the UN-backed Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CACC), which is supported by over 30 countries, says HFCs could account for 19% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2050.
“Fast action to address HFCs would also catalyze gains in energy efficiency in refrigeration and airconditioning systems, thereby greatly reducing electricity use and carbondioxide emissions, along with emissions of the HFCs themselves,” says the CACC’s submission ahead of the Abu Dhabi meeting.
The CACC, which counts the US, UK and Franceas members, together with industry representatives from the Coca Cola, Red Bulland Unilever-backed Refrigerants, Naturally! group are set to address delegates in an hour-long session on Sunday.
They want the UN’s Montreal Protocol ozone-protection treaty to take full responsibility for eliminating the use of HFCs, in the same way as it successfully monitored the end of CFCs, which were also used in aerosols, refrigeration and air conditioners.
Over 500 ministers, diplomats and members of civil society are expected to attend this weekend’s gathering,which includes keynote speeches from Ban Ki-moon, Al Gore, Tony Blair and Unilever CEO Paul Polman.
UN organisers are billing it as an opportunity to prepare areas where countries and business can find clear agreement, ahead of the Secretary General’s high-level meeting in New York in September.
“The Abu Dhabi Ascent will play a pivotal role in mobilising action that will allow us to address climatechange,” Ban said in a statement this week.
Last year the US and China, together with members of the G20, agreed to explore the technical and economic alternatives to HFCuse.
But while there is widespread agreement that HFC use needs to be slashed, a powerful group of countries including India, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Brazil oppose radical policies to cut their use.
A key barrier to using otherforms of coolants is the lack of available financing for developing countriesand the potential effects on their domestic industries, issues India and Brazil have raised recently.
In addition, Middle East countries rely heavily on air conditioning units on a daily basis, and envoys say HFC alternatives may not be able to cope with ambient temperatures all year round.
“Depending on the alternatives selected and the type of refrigeration system concerned, energy savings can be realized in the range of 15% up to 30%,” the CACC submission says.
Other key areas up for discussion include climate finance flows, the role of cities in slashing carbon pollution and how to scale up global energy efficiency efforts.
To see the Agenda for theClimate meeting click here
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