(c) Rwanda’s Minister of Natural Resources, Dr Vincent Biruta, and (r) Morocco’s Minister of Environment, Dr Hakima El Haite
Rwanda is scheduled to host the 28th meeting of parties of Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer.
Delegates have began arriving for the seven-day meeting which starts on Saturday 8-14th. They are seeking to endorse an ambitious amendment to the Montreal Protocol as part of efforts to maximize appliance energy efficiency and protect the climate.
Amending the Montreal Protocol could avoid up to 0.5 degrees Celsius of warming by the end of the century.
Parties have presented proposals to amend the Montreal Protocol to phase down greenhouse gases and use the proven flexibility, resources, and experience of this successful and fair international agreement to avoid the equivalent of another 100 to 200 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions in the near-term to 2050.
Energy efficiency of appliances is one of the biggest mitigation and development opportunities that the world can implement immediately. Energy efficiency gains in the air conditioning sector alone could reduce global electricity demand by over 11% by 2030 and improved efficiency of room air conditioners could prevent up to 100 billion tons of CO2 emissions by 2050.
A breakthrough in this effort is the ongoing and positive negotiations of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol to reach a global agreement to phase down consumption and production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) – a potent greenhouse gas mainly used in refrigeration systems.
Morocco and Rwanda, along with ministers from Latin America, the Caribbean, North America, Europe and Africa, stood together during a recent meeting of the Climate & Clean Air Coalition in Vienna and formed a high level Friends of an Ambitious Amendment Coalition.
The Kingdom of Morocco is president of the 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
In a joint statement released by government of Rwanda and Kingdom of Morocco, “amendment of the Montreal Protocol would be the most impactful step the world can take this year to achieve the global targets set under the Paris Agreement.”
“Passing the amendment on hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) would also signal the international community’s commitment to move from targets to the necessary tangible action to combat climate change – a key focus of the upcoming COP 22 in Marrakesh in November.”
The two countries are encouraged by the private sector and philanthropic organizations reacting positively to their political determination to adopt the amendment in Kigali.
“The new and additional fast-start funding pledged to promote energy efficiency is a welcomed compliment to the proposed amendment and to the essential funding from donor countries for the Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund,” said the joint statement.
The Kingdom of Morocco and the Government of Rwanda are confident that the Parties will adopt this ambitious amendment to the Montreal Protocol which presents positive impact on the lives of the world’s citizens and the planet would be felt for generations to come.
