Kigali Amendment
| Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol | |
|---|---|
 _ Ratified, accepted or approved _ Covered by European Union's ratification but has not ratified independently | |
| Type | Environmental protection agreement |
| Context | Montreal Protocol (1985) |
| Signed | October 15, 2016[1] |
| Location | Kigali, Rwanda |
| Effective | January 1, 2019 |
| Parties | 163[2] |
The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol is an international agreement to gradually reduce the consumption and production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). It is a legally binding agreement designed to create rights and obligations in international law.[3]
The Montreal Protocol was originally created to preserve and restore the ozone layer; participating countries agreed to phase out chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), gases that had been causing ozone depletion. HFCs do not contain chlorine, so they do not cause ozone depletion, and therefore have been replacing CFCs under the Protocol.[4] However, HFCs are powerful greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change,[5] so this amendment adds HFCs to the list of chemicals that countries promise to phase down.[6]
As of November 4, 2024[update], 163 states[2] and the European Union[7] have ratified the Kigali Amendment.
Background
[edit]Many industrial products, including refrigerants[8] and other cooling services, use HFCs.[9]
Originally, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were used in these applications, but the deleterious effect of these gases on the ozone layer was revealed in 1974 by Paul J. Crutzen, Mario Molina, and F. Sherwood Rowland.[10] The Montreal Protocol was signed in 1987 by the 20 major CFC producers and came into effect in 1989; since 1987, all 197 member states of the United Nations, among others, have ratified the Protocol. HFCs have since largely replaced CFCs.[11]
Although HFCs are harmless to the ozone layer, they are potent greenhouse gases.[12] While their lifespan in the atmosphere is short (10 to 20 years) relative to carbon dioxide (CO2), HFCs filter infrared waves much more powerfully. HFCs are therefore thousands of times more heat-trapping than CO2,[13] with a 100 year global warming potential (GWP) between 12 on the low end and 14,800 on the high end.[14] For comparison, the GWP of carbon dioxide is 1. Eliminating emissions of these gases could significantly lower the effects of global warming and avoid a full 0.5 degree Celsius of warming above preindustrial levels by the end of the century.[15]
Details of the amendment
[edit]Article 5 of the Montreal Protocol created separate standards for developing countries and non-developing.[16] Whether a country was categorized as developing or non-developing depended on individual economic conditions at the time of the agreement or pending special request.[17] Because the Protocol was created in the 1980s and countries economic situations have changed, the Kigali Amendment created three updated groups for compliance with the additional terms.[18]
The first group, which includes the "old" industrialized countries, is committed to reducing the use of HFCs by 45% by 2024 and by 85% by 2036, compared to their use between 2011 and 2013. A second group, which includes China and Brazil, is committed to reducing its consumption by 80% by 2045. Finally, this deadline is extended to 2047 for the rest of the countries, including India and a number of countries in the Middle East,[19] which are large consumers of air conditioning.
In addition, parties that experience monthly average temperatures over 35 °C (95 °F) for at least two months per year, over a period of 10 consecutive years, may request a waiver.[20][a]
Reception to the amendment
[edit]Environmentalist website TreeHugger urged then-President of the United States Donald Trump to ask the United States Senate to ratify the amendment.[21]
Parties
[edit]| Country | Date | Type of agreement |
|---|---|---|
 Albania |
18 January 2019 | Ratification |
 Andorra |
23 January 2019 | Acceptance |
 Angola |
16 November 2020 | Ratification |
 Argentina |
22 November 2019 | Ratification |
 Armenia |
2 May 2019 | Acceptance |
 Australia |
27 October 2017 | Acceptance |
 Austria |
27 September 2018 | Ratification |
 Bahamas |
30 May 2023 | Ratification |
 Bahrain |
1 July 2024 | Ratification |
 Bangladesh |
8 June 2020 | Ratification |
 Barbados |
19 April 2018 | Ratification |
 Belarus |
3 November 2022 | Ratification |
 Belgium |
4 June 2018 | Ratification |
 Belize |
3 October 2023 | Approval |
 Benin |
19 March 2018 | Ratification |
 Bhutan |
27 September 2019 | Ratification |
 Bolivia |
9 October 2020 | Ratification |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina |
26 May 2021 | Ratification |
 Botswana |
19 September 2020 | Acceptance |
 Brazil |
19 October 2022 | Acceptance |
 Bulgaria |
1 May 2018 | Ratification |
 Burkina Faso |
26 July 2018 | Ratification |
 Burundi |
26 March 2021 | Ratification |
 Cabo Verde |
28 October 2020 | Ratification |
 Cambodia |
8 April 2021 | Acceptance |
 Cameroon |
24 August 2021 | Ratification |
 Canada |
3 November 2017 | Ratification |
 Chad |
26 March 2019 | Ratification |
 Chile |
19 September 2017 | Ratification |
 China |
17 June 2021 | Acceptance |
 Colombia |
25 February 2021 | Ratification |
 Comoros |
16 November 2017 | Ratification |
 Congo |
16 June 2022 | Ratification |
 Cook Islands |
22 August 2019 | Acceptance |
 Costa Rica |
23 May 2018 | Ratification |
 Côte d'Ivoire |
29 November 2017 | Acceptance |
 Croatia |
6 December 2018 | Ratification |
 Cuba |
20 June 2019 | Ratification |
 Cyprus |
22 July 2019 | Ratification |
 Czech Republic |
27 September 2018 | Acceptance |
 Denmark |
6 December 2018 | Approval |
 Djibouti |
8 March 2024 | Ratification |
 Dominican Republic |
14 April 2021 | Acceptance |
 Ecuador |
22 January 2018 | Ratification |
 Egypt |
22 August 2023 | Ratification |
 El Salvador |
13 September 2021 | Acceptance |
 Eritrea |
7 February 2023 | Ratification |
 Estonia |
27 September 2018 | Ratification |
 Eswatini |
24 November 2020 | Acceptance |
 Ethiopia |
5 July 2019 | Ratification |
 European Union |
27 September 2018 | Approval |
 Fiji |
16 June 2020 | Ratification |
 Finland |
14 November 2017 | Acceptance |
 France |
29 March 2018 | Approval |
 Gabon |
28 February 2018 | Acceptance |
 Gambia |
5 May 2021 | Ratification |
 Georgia |
11 July 2023 | Acceptance |
 Germany |
14 November 2017 | Acceptance |
 Ghana |
2 August 2019 | Ratification |
 Greece |
5 October 2018 | Ratification |
 Grenada |
29 May 2018 | Ratification |
 Guatemala |
11 January 2024 | Ratification |
 Guinea |
5 December 2019 | Ratification |
 Guinea-Bissau |
22 October 2018 | Ratification |
 Holy See |
17 June 2020 | Ratification |
 Honduras |
28 January 2019 | Ratification |
 Hungary |
14 September 2018 | Approval |
 Iceland |
25 January 2021 | Acceptance |
 India |
27 September 2021 | Ratification |
 Indonesia |
14 December 2022 | Ratification |
 Ireland |
12 March 2018 | Ratification |
 Italy |
25 May 2022 | Ratification |
 Japan |
18 December 2018 | Acceptance |
 Jordan |
16 October 2019 | Ratification |
 Kenya |
22 September 2023 | Acceptance |
 Kiribati |
26 October 2018 | Ratification |
 Kuwait |
4 November 2024 | Approval |
 Kyrgyzstan |
8 September 2020 | Ratification |
 Laos |
16 November 2017 | Acceptance |
 Latvia |
17 August 2018 | Ratification |
 Lebanon |
5 February 2020 | Ratification |
 Lesotho |
7 October 2019 | Ratification |
 Liberia |
12 July 2020 | Ratification |
 Liechtenstein |
16 September 2020 | Ratification |
 Lithuania |
24 July 2018 | Ratification |
 Luxembourg |
16 November 2017 | Ratification |
 Malawi |
21 November 2017 | Ratification |
 Malaysia |
21 October 2020 | Ratification |
 Maldives |
13 November 2017 | Ratification |
 Mali |
31 March 2017 | Acceptance |
 Marshall Islands |
15 May 2017 | Ratification |
 Mauritius |
1 October 2019 | Ratification |
 Mexico |
25 September 2018 | Acceptance |
 Micronesia |
12 May 2017 | Ratification |
 Moldova |
22 September 2023 | Acceptance |
 Mongolia |
27 July 2022 | Ratification |
 Montenegro |
23 April 2019 | Ratification |
 Morocco |
22 April 2022 | Ratification |
 Mozambique |
16 January 2020 | Ratification |
 Namibia |
16 May 2019 | Acceptance |
 Nauru |
3 November 2022 | Ratification |
 Netherlands |
8 February 2018 | Acceptance |
 New Zealand |
3 October 2019 | Ratification |
 Nicaragua |
30 September 2020 | Ratification |
 Niger |
29 August 2018 | Ratification |
 Nigeria |
20 December 2018 | Ratification |
 Niue |
24 April 2018 | Ratification |
 North Korea |
21 September 2017 | Ratification |
 North Macedonia |
12 March 2020 | Ratification |
 Norway |
6 September 2017 | Ratification |
 Oman |
8 November 2024 | Ratification |
 Palau |
29 August 2017 | Ratification |
 Panama |
28 September 2018 | Ratification |
 Papua New Guinea |
12 November 2024 | Ratification |
 Paraguay |
1 November 2018 | Acceptance |
 Peru |
7 August 2019 | Ratification |
 Philippines |
3 November 2022 | Ratification |
 Poland |
7 January 2019 | Ratification |
 Portugal |
17 July 2018 | Approval |
 Romania |
1 July 2020 | Acceptance |
 Russia |
3 October 2020 | Acceptance |
 Rwanda |
23 May 2017 | Ratification |
 Samoa |
23 March 2018 | Ratification |
 San Marino |
20 October 2020 | Acceptance |
 Sao Tome and Principe |
4 October 2019 | Ratification |
 Senegal |
31 August 2018 | Ratification |
 Serbia |
8 October 2021 | Ratification |
 Seychelles |
20 August 2019 | Acceptance |
 Sierra Leone |
15 June 2020 | Ratification |
 Singapore |
1 June 2022 | Ratification |
 Slovakia |
16 November 2017 | Ratification |
 Slovenia |
7 December 2018 | Ratification |
 Solomon Islands |
23 May 2022 | Ratification |
 Somalia |
27 November 2019 | Ratification |
 South Africa |
1 August 2019 | Ratification |
 South Korea |
19 January 2023 | Ratification |
 Spain |
20 January 2022 | Ratification |
 Sri Lanka |
28 September 2018 | Ratification |
 St. Lucia |
2 November 2021 | Ratification |
 St. Vincent and the Grenadines |
7 November 2022 | Ratification |
 Sweden |
17 November 2017 | Ratification |
 Switzerland |
7 November 2018 | Ratification |
 Syria |
5 April 2021 | Ratification |
 Tajikistan |
29 June 2022 | Ratification |
 Tanzania |
25 March 2022 | Ratification |
 Thailand |
3 April 2024 | Ratification |
 Togo |
8 March 2018 | Acceptance |
 Tonga |
17 September 2018 | Ratification |
 Trinidad and Tobago |
17 November 2017 | Ratification |
 Tunisia |
27 August 2021 | Ratification |
 Türkiye |
10 November 2021 | Ratification |
 Turkmenistan |
31 August 2020 | Ratification |
 Tuvalu |
21 September 2017 | Ratification |
 Uganda |
21 June 2018 | Ratification |
 United Arab Emirates |
19 April 2024 | Acceptance |
 United Kingdom |
14 November 2017 | Ratification |
 United States of America |
31 October 2022 | Ratification |
 Uruguay |
12 September 2018 | Ratification |
 Vanuatu |
20 April 2018 | Ratification |
 Venezuela |
5 December 2022 | Ratification |
 Viet Nam |
27 September 2019 | Approval |
 Zambia |
15 March 2021 | Ratification |
 Zimbabwe |
18 October 2022 | Acceptance |
Notes
[edit]- ^ These countries are: Algeria, Bahrain, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Togo, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates.
References
[edit]- ^ "The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer". United States Department of State. December 9, 2022. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
On October 15, 2016, Parties to the Montreal Protocol adopted the Kigali Amendment...
- ^ a b "Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer". United Nations Treaty Collective. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ "Briefing Note on Ratification of the Kigali Amendment" (PDF). United Nations Environment Programme Ozone Secretariat. February 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 2, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
The Amendment is not legally binding on a party until it enters into force for that party.
- ^ "Thirty years on, what is the Montreal Protocol doing to protect the ozone?". United Nations Environment Programme. November 15, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
- ^ "The Montreal Protocol evolves to fight climate change". United Nations Industrial Development Organization. January 10, 2021. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ Dillon, Jeremy (September 20, 2022). "Kigali climate treaty clears Senate hurdle". E&E News. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
- ^ "Kigali Amendment hits milestone 100th ratification, boosting climate action". United Nations Environment Programme. July 14, 2020. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
- ^ Chime, Vivian (September 16, 2022). "FG unveils 'cooling action plan' to reduce emissions from refrigerants". TheCable. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
- ^ Sandefur, Jason (July 17, 2020). "UN Agency Urges Quick Shift to Environmentally Friendly Cooling". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
- ^ Roan, Shari (March 12, 2012). "F. Sherwood Rowland dies at 84; UC Irvine professor won Nobel Prize". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
- ^ McGrath, Matt (October 15, 2016). "Climate change: 'Monumental' deal to cut HFCs, fastest growing greenhouse gases". BBC News. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
- ^ Benshoff, Laura (September 20, 2022). "The U.S. ratifies treaty to phase down HFCs, gases trapping 1,000x more heat than CO2". Boise State Public Radio. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
- ^ Denning, Scott (September 22, 2022). "US Senate ratifies treaty to phase down climate-warming HFCs from refrigerators and air conditioners – but what will replace them this time?". The Conversation. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
- ^ Cariaso, Bella (September 17, 2022). "PH begins 3rd stage to phase out ODS". The Manila Times. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
- ^ Velders GJ, Fahey DW, Daniel JS, McFarland M, Andersen SO (July 2009). "The large contribution of projected HFC emissions to future climate forcing". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 106 (27): 10949–54. Bibcode:2009PNAS..10610949V. doi:10.1073/pnas.0902817106. PMC 2700150. PMID 19549868.
- ^ Montreal Protocol, Article 5
- ^ "Handbook for the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer" (PDF). p. 735.
- ^ Section 5.8, Article 1. "Handbook for the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer" (PDF). p.920-922
- ^ "The decision and its annex state that Bahrain, India, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE will use a baseline averaging their calculated levels of HFC consumption for the years 2024, 2025, and 2026, plus 65% of their baseline consumption of HCFCs." Earth Negotiations Bulletin (PDF). p10.
- ^ "Decision XXVIII/2: Decision related to the amendment phasing down hydrofluorocarbons". Appendix II: List of countries operating under the high-ambient-temperature exemption.
- ^ Alter, Lloyd (October 11, 2018). "Kigali Amendment Would Phase Out Climate-Changing HFC Refrigerants. Will Trump Ratify It?". TreeHugger. Archived from the original on May 19, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2022.