INDEX
REFERENCE WITH UPSC-CSE SYLLABUS
WHY IN NEWS
ABOUT KIGALI AMENDMENT
WHAT IS HFCs
BACKGROUND OF HFCs
HOW KIGALI AMENDMENT CAME
THE DEAL IN KIGALI AMENDMENT
WHY WAS KIGALI AMENDMENT DONE
CHALLENGES
CONCLUSION
EXPECTED PRELIMS QUESTIONS
EXPECTED MAINS QUESTION
ADDITIONAL POINTS FOR BETTER CLARITY
- MONTREAL PROTOCOL VS KYOTO PROTOCOL
REFERENCE WITH UPSC-CSE SYLLABUS
- General Studies-III
- Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.
WHY IN NEWS
- A key amendment to the 1989 ozone-saving Montreal Protocol, India decided to ratify it.
ABOUT KIGALI AMENDMENT
- More than 170 countries agreed to amend the Montreal Protocol, in October of 2016, during 28th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in Kigali/Rwanda, aiming at protecting the climate and the ozone layer.
- It was negotiated in the Rwadan capital so it was named after the Rwadan capital.
- It will enter into force on 1 January 2019, provided it has been ratified by at least 20 parties.
- By 2047 the goal is to achieve over 80% reduction in HFC consumption.
- It is an amendment to Montreal Protocol.
- Between the signatory parties with non-compliance procedures, it is a legally binding agreement.
WHAT IS HFCs
- They are Organic compounds which contain Carbon, hydrogen, and fluorine.
- They used for cooling and refrigeration
- Ozone depleting substances like Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) they are used as substitutes for it.
BACKGROUND OF HFCs
- In the 1970s and 1980s, HFCs came in to replace the CFCs, or chlorofluorocarbons, gases that were being used extensively in the air conditioning and refrigerant industries, and also for some other applications.
- For a hole in the ozone layer of the atmosphere, CFCs were found to be primarily responsible and this could have dangerous health impacts.
- The world negotiated the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer to phase these chemicals out in 1987.
- In 1989 the Protocol became effective, and in the next 25 years, has succeeded in eliminating, almost completely, the use of CFCs.
- For industrial use HFCs were effective and replaced the CFCs all but seamlessly.
- Later it was realized that HFCs did not deplete the ozone layer (which, incidentally, has been repaired considerably in the last quarter century) but these were very powerful greenhouse gases, much more dangerous than carbon dioxide, which is mainly blamed for global warming.
- In different applications, a set of 19 HFCs are used and many of them are several hundreds or thousands of times more potent than CO2.
- Currently these gases account for a very small fraction of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the world, less than 5%, (Despite their high global warming potential) mainly because they are used in very few sectors of industry.
- In India, they constitute around 1-3% of total emissions.
HOW KIGALI AMENDMENT CAME
- In a global agreement on climate change to cut emissions of all greenhouse gases, including HFCs, it was realized that HFCs needed to be treated on a higher priority.
- To deal with only ozone-depleting substances there was Montreal Protocol a legally-binding agreement.
- But HFCs were not an ozone-depleting substances.
So, proposal to amend the Montreal Protocol to enable it to phase out HFCs was made.
THE DEAL IN KIGALI AMENDMENT
- A ‘baseline year’ (or three-year period), and a ‘freeze year’, both sets of countries are assigned.
- The harmful substance, like HFC its production or consumption in the baseline year (or the average of three-year period) serves as the baseline amount against which reductions are assigned in the phasedown schedule.
- A few years after the baseline period is the freeze year which is the time from when the use of the harmful chemical must begin to go below the average amounts used in the baseline period.
- Chemical use can grow between the baseline year and the freeze year, but must come down to at least baseline levels in the freeze year.
- Mostly all country Kigali meeting were agreed on a 2011-13 baseline period for developed countries and a 2020-22 baseline for developing countries.
- But India and some other countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq and Pakistan, argued for a later baseline period of 2024-26 for developing countries.
- A delayed baseline period will let them use HFC unrestrained for a few more years, giving them more time to start making reductions.
- Few other countries and India agreed to advance their freeze year to 2028 while managing to get a 2024-26 baseline period.
- Other developing countries, including China, Brazil and South Africa, stuck to their earlier baseline period of 2020-22, and freeze year of 2024.
- With different phasedown schedules, first time in the Montreal mechanism, developing countries got divided into two different groups.
- In 2019, amendment came into force, and ensure that the developed countries eliminate at least 85% of their HFCs from the baseline period of 2011-13 by the year 2036.
- Chinese group of developing countries has target of eliminating 80% of their 2020-22 baseline HFC use by the year 2045,
- Indian group have to phase out 85% of their baseline HFCs by the year 2047.
WHY WAS KIGALI AMENDMENT DONE
- For the phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by cutting their production and consumption is its aim.
- HFCs are currently used as replacements of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), because of their zero impact on the depletion of the ozone layer, however they are powerful greenhouse gases.
- 0.5 °C increase in global temperature by the end of the century, by this amendment it can be avoid.
- Kigali Amendment + the Montreal Protocol = more powerful instrument against global warming.
CHALLENGES
- The rapid growth of the air conditioning industry, particularly in developing countries like India, has made it the fastest growing greenhouse gases.
- These gases would account for 19% of global emissions by the year 2050, if this is not checked.
CONCLUSION
- Epic global action is required to reduce emission and at all levels efficiency needs to be improved.
- To achieve the target major lifestyle and behavioural changes is required and this need to happen for atleast 50-70 year period.
- But why only HFCs, we all know that air conditioner and refrigerator sectors are going to grow in future but same is for electronics sector which include solar photovoltaic cells, and NF3 (nitrogen trifluoride) is used in it which is a global warming causing gas.
- From CFCs to HCFCs to HFCs to a new alternative 30 years ago, earth was killed by the patent masters of developed countries when they started this game of making money by putting burden on developing countries and closed their eyes to reduce emissions at their own backyard.
EXPECTED PRELIMS QUESTIONS
Q1. Consider the following statement regarding KIGALI AMENDMENT
- By 2030 the goal is to achieve over 80% reduction in HFC consumption.
- It is an amendment to Montreal Protocol.
- Between the signatory parties with non-compliance procedures, it is a legally binding agreement.
Which of the following statement is correct?
(1) a and c
(2) a and b
(3) b and c
(4) All of the above
SOLUTION
STATEMENT A is incorrect because by 2047 the goal is to achieve over 80% reduction in HFC consumption.
STATEMENT B is correct because it is an amendment to Montreal Protocol.
STATEMENT C is correct because between the signatory parties with non-compliance procedures, it is a legally binding agreement.
Q2. Which of the following statements are incorrect
- Rwanda is landlocked country.
- The elimination of harmful chemicals by all its member countries, though on different time schedules was what the Kyoto Protocol say.
- But only a set of developed countries to mandatorily accept emission reduction targets was required in the Montreal Protocol.
- a and c
- b and d
- b and c
- a, b , c
SOLUTION
STATEMENT A is correct because Rwanda is landlocked country.
STATEMENT B is incorrect because The elimination of harmful chemicals by all its member countries, though on different time schedules was what the Montreal Protocol says.
STATEMENT C is incorrect because But only a set of developed countries to mandatorily accept emission reduction targets was required in the Kyoto Protocol
Q3. Which of the following statements are correct regarding HFCs
- They are Organic compounds which contain Helium, hydrogen, and Chlorine.
- They used for cooling and refrigeration
(1) a only
(2) b only
(3) Both a and b
(4) Neither a nor b
SOLUTION
STATEMENT A is incorrect they are Organic compounds which contain Carbon, hydrogen, and fluorine.
STATEMENT B is correct because they used for cooling and refrigeration
EXPECTED MAINS QUESTION
Q1. Discuss th key provision of KIGALI AMENDMENT and its impact in controlling global warming.
ADDITIONAL POINTS FOR BETTER CLARITY
MONTREAL PROTOCOL VS KYOTO PROTOCOL
- The elimination of harmful chemicals by all its member countries, though on different time schedules was what the Montreal Protocol says.
- But only a set of developed countries to mandatorily accept emission reduction targets was required in the Kyoto Protocol
- If emission is reduced by developing countries they could receive ‘carbon credits’ and sell them in carbon markets to earn revenues under Kyoto Protocol.
Sources used:
The Hindu,The Indian Express, British Broadcasting Corporation News, Press Trust of India, Business Standard, The Economic Times