In little more than a year governments around the world are expected to submit their emission reduction contribution for the period after 2020. This was the agreement made at the Warsaw Climate Talks that concluded last week and during which only limited progress was made towards negotiating a new global climate agreement. No progress was made on global action to address climate pollutants hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). 19 April 2013 During the 19th Conference of the Parties (COP19) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in Warsaw, Poland, only limited progress was made in international negotiations towards a global climate agreement to come in force after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2020.
While the question of who should pay for the losses caused by climate change (loss and damage discussion) was one of the key issues discussed at the COP19, discussions on mitigation opportunities to reduce emissions of gases other than CO2, namely climate warming hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), were limited. However, reducing HFCs could deliver substantial greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions in the near future at a relatively low-cost, and are considered by many to be a “low hanging fruit” in climate protection. New emission reduction targets in 2015 After long hours of negotiations, an agreement was finally reached among the participants of the COP19. It foresees that by the first quarter of 2015 governments around the world put forward with their contributions (national targets) to global efforts to reduce GHG emissions, which will come into force after 2020. These targets are to be addressed in the new global climate agreement that is meant to replace the Kyoto protocol and should be signed during the COP21 that will take place in Paris at the end of 2015.
Loss and damage Loss and damage (of extreme climate events) became one of the central discussions at this year’s Climate Talks, highlighting the deep divide between the developed and developing countries on climate change issues. At one point a block of 132 countries briefly walked out of the UN talks to protest the increasingly fractious climate negotiations. A compromise was reached at the end by setting up a “Warsaw International Mechanism” which would allow victims of climate disasters to receive aid but that will not be linked to any liability from developed countries.
Calls for global action on HFCs Action on climate warming HFCs has been repeatedly referred to as “low hanging fruit” in climate protection by interventions made at COP19 plenary sessions by several parties, including the US and the European Union. At the end of the first week a draft text of the ministerial decision was circulated which made reference to reducing HFCs. The draft text proposed that countries should agree to adopting “appropriate measures under the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer to progressively reduce the production and consumption of HFCs, based on, inter alia, an examination of economically viable and technically feasible alternatives, and to continue to include HFCs within the scope of the convention and its Kyoto Protocol for accounting and reporting of emissions.”
India and Saudi Arabia block progress on HFCs However, countries such as India and Saudi Arabiahave been blocking efforts to take international action on HFCs. The respective delegates made interventions against using the Montreal Protocol to phase down HFCs, maintaining that that the Protocol has little jurisdiction over these climate-damaging gases.
This is despite the fact that during the meeting of the 20 major economies on 6 September 2013, India as well as Saudi Arabia along with the rest of the G-20 countries expressed their support for initiatives that are complementary to efforts under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), including “using the expertise and institutions of the Montreal Protocol to phase down the production and consumption of HFCs”, while continuing to “include HFCs within the scope of the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol for accounting and reporting of emissions”
Industry supports global action on HFCs Members of the global industry initiative Refrigerants, Naturally! (which includes consumer brands such as PepsiCo, Red Bull, Unilever and The Coca-ColaCompany) and Greenpeace issued a statement calling on all parties of the UNFCCC at the COP19 to declare their support for formal negotiations of HFC phase-down under the Montreal Protocol. “Our experience proves that natural refrigerants are technically and economically viable alternatives to HFCs and HCFCs. They do not harm the environment, save resources and offers the only truly sustainable alternative for commercial refrigeration,” reads thestatement. About Warsaw Climate Talks The Warsaw Climate Change Conference, held in Poland from 11 to 22 November 2013, was organised by the United Nations and was the 19th annual session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) signed in 1992. The conference delegates representing the UNFCCC signatories were continuing international negotiations towards a global climate agreement to come in force after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2020. [ΠΗΓΗ: http://www.hydrocarbons21.com] |