CAN Briefing Paper: Achieving an ambitious outcome on HFC phasedown under the Montreal Protocol in 2016, June 2016

~~2015 was a momentous year for multilateralism and for climate change policy making. Governments must now show strong ownership of the Paris Agreement by aligning policies, resources, institutions and legislation in support of the Paris Agreement.

An agreement by Parties to an HFC phasedown in 2016 during the October Meeting of the Parties (MOP) to the Montreal Protocol would represent a major and critical step in achieving the 1.5ºC temperature goal agreed to in Paris.
 
A HFC phasedown would prevent 100 billion tons of CO2-e by 2050, and avoided warming of up to 0.5ºC by the end of the century; coupled with co-benefits in energy efficiency improvements for air conditioning, total mitigation could reach up to 200 billion tons of CO2-e by 2050.

Many governments have already included actions to phase down HFCs within their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) under the Paris Agreement. CAN encourages other parties in the position to do so, to include national HFC phase down in their NDCs. This could be done during the time of revision of the INDCs particularly around the 2018 facilitative dialogue.
 
As with the previous and ongoing chemical phase-outs under the Montreal Protocol (CFCs and HCFCs respectively), developed nations will need to take the lead on an immediate and ambitious phase out schedule and provide enough funding to developing nations for a near-term freeze and rapid national transitions to appropriate environmentally friendly alternative compounds and technologies.

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Download file: http://can_briefing_hfc_amendment_june_2016.pdf