What amendment was agreed to under the Montreal Protocol on the phasing out of CFCs? (a) Amendment Paris b) Amendment New York c) Delhi Amendment d) Kigali Amendment View Answer Michael Wara, a researcher at Stanford University in California, is less convinced that CFCs should be treated under the Montreal Protocol. He argues that the Kyoto Protocol and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) could put in place an alternative price structure to avoid having to pay the full market value of CFCs. “I think it makes a lot more sense to deal with it head-on within the UNFCCC,” he says. Because CFCs do not affect ozone, they are not covered by the Montreal Protocol. As greenhouse gases, they are covered by the Kyoto Protocol, but many believe they could be eliminated much more quickly – and at a fraction of the cost – if Montreal were extended to them. The Montreal agreement has broad international support, a network of experts around the world and a 20-year track record in managing these types of chemicals. Fluoridated hydrocarbons (HCFCs) are gases used worldwide for refrigeration, air conditioning and foam applications, but they will flow under the Montreal Protocol since the depletion of the ozone layer. HCFCs are both ODS and potent greenhouse gases: the most widely used HCFC is almost 2000 times more potent than carbon dioxide compared to its overall distortion potential (GWP). Recognizing the potential benefits to the planet`s climate, the parties decided in September 2007 to accelerate their phasing-out schedule for the HFFC. Developed countries have reduced their consumption of HCFCs and will eliminate it completely by 2020. Developing countries agreed to launch their exit process in 2013 and now have a gradual reduction until the total abandonment of HCFCs by 2030.

“If Member States meet their commitments on ozone-depleting substances, the ozone layer will be restored to 1980 levels by the middle of the century, when Member States meet their commitments. Our joint efforts to implement the Montreal Protocol are a good example of international cooperation in solving environmental problems at a high level. Greenhouse gas emissions with high global warming potential are regulated by effective mechanisms. Only through cooperation will we be able to limit global warming to 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius by 2050,” said Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko. Given all these factors, and more, the Montreal Protocol is considered one of the most successful environmental agreements of all time. What the parties to the protocol have accomplished since 1987 is unprecedented and remains an inspiring example of what international cooperation can achieve in its best form. It illustrates the following scenario: a price of $25 per tonne of carbon is equivalent to US$150 for the cost of CFCs that power an average home air conditioner, which is a price of $450 to $600 for consumers. On the other hand, the Lieberman Warner climate law, introduced last year in the U.S. Senate, proposed stricter progressiveization of CFCs than for other greenhouse gases, but in separate rules.

Compliance would cost only $2 to $3 per unit, DuPont estimates, which means only a $4 to $6 increase in consumer prices. The parties have been negotiating this issue since 2009 and the agreement reached on the Kigali amendment (Decision XXVIII/1 and decision XXVIII/2 that accompanies it) perpetuates the historical legacy of the Montreal Protocol.