G20 Issue Brief: Ratification of the Montreal Protocol Amendment on HFCs, February 2017
In the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol adopted in 2016, parties agreed to phase-down hydrofluorocarbons, the fastest growing climate pollutants. Once implemented, this phase-down could prevent emissions of 80 GtCO2e by 2050, reducing global warming by up to 0.5ºC by the end of the century compared to business as usual.
In addition, the HFC phasedown under the Montreal Protocol will, as has always been the case in the past, provide the opportunity to improve energy efficiency in air conditioning and refrigeration systems, potentially in the range of 30 to 60%. In the room air conditioning sector alone, improving energy efficiency of equipment by 30% while simultaneously transitioning to low-GWP alternatives could save an amount of electricity equivalent to up to 2,500 medium-sized power plants globally by 2050, while providing climate mitigation of nearly 100 Gt CO2-eq by 2050 from this sector.
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Download file: http://can_g20_brief_hfcs_february_2017.pdf