According to the recently published ‘Cooling Emissions and Policy Synthesis Report’ from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Energy Agency (IEA), coordinated international action on energy-efficient, climate-friendly cooling could avoid as much as 460 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions – roughly equal to eight years of global emissions at 2018 levels – over the next four decades.
Also, reductions of between 210 and 460 billion tonnes of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) equivalent emissions can be delivered over the next four decades through actions to improve the cooling industry’s energy efficiency together with the transition to climate-friendly refrigerants, states the report.
It goes without saying that this potential can be translated into reality only through a global intention and determination. Each country has to have a strong will to really pursue the issue of climate change. But the 64 thousand dollar question is – how to go about it?
The referred report has communicated that countries can institutionalize many of these actions by integrating them into their implementation of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. The Kigali Amendment was signed by the parties to the Montreal Protocol when after the Montreal Protocol the new data showed worse-than-expected damage to the ozone layer. Besides other things, this was targeted to enable the control of new chemicals and the creation of a financial mechanism to enable developing countries to comply with. Signatories to the Kigali Amendment have agreed to reduce the production and use of climate-warming refrigerant gases known as Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which has the potential to avoid as much as 0.40C of global warming by 2100 through this step alone.
Up to July 14, 2021, 121 countries and the European Union have ratified the Kigali Amendment. However, the US has not ratified the amendment yet, but in April 2021 it pledged to do so. I feel, it was very essential for the Trump administration to ratify the Kigali Amendment within his regime. However, US President Donald Trump is no longer on chair, and his successor President Joe Biden is still to complete the process of ratification. Will he act faster now?
Pravita Iyer
Publisher & Director
