Campaigners warn against ‘watering down’ Kigali Amendment requirements

The Environmental Investigation Agency says next month’s meeting of signatories to the Kigali Amendment will be an important opportunity to safeguard and strengthen requirements

Environmental campaigners are urging signatories to the Kigali Amendment not to weaken or delay requirements to curb the use of HFC products from next year.

The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) said it would be pushing for a continued commitment among developing nations to implement a freeze on HFC consumption levels at the Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) of signatories to the Montreal Protocol.

The 45th annual meeting of the OEWG is taking place in Thailand from 3 July to 7 July to discuss the latest commitments under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. The protocol aims to end use of higher GWP refrigerants around the world and would supersede other environmental legislation such as the UK and EU F-Gas Regulation from the mid-2030s.

The EIA has identified several priorities that it hopes to see backed during the OEWG from countries that are signed to up to Kigali Amendment. These include expanding funding that is available to aid developing countries to reduce their use of higher GWP products, as well as preventing the “dumping” of older and more inefficient equipment in these countries.

A workshop will be held by the campaign group at the OEWG with the aim to try and strengthen the commitments agreed under the Montreal Protocol and the enforcement of the agreement. This work will identify some of the main challenges the EIA sees around global efforts to ensure a phasedown in use of HFCS, while also tackling the illegal production and trade of chemicals.

Other developments to be discussed during the meeting will include the upcoming freeze on HFC consumption for developing countries that are identified under Article 5 of the Montreal Protocol.

This freeze on HFC consumption will come into effect from 2024 and is expected to apply to most developing countries. Each county will see consumption levels set as a baseline figure that will form the basis of future phasedown quotas for HFC use. A second freeze that would apply to countries such as India, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia & United Arab Emirates would see a freeze in consumption in 2028, the EIA noted.

However, some nations have questioned the planned schedule for the consumption freeze from next year.

Cuba has put forward a proposal to adjust the implementation of the 2024 consumption freeze by arguing that the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic have hampered the ability of some signatories to implement these restrictions on HFC consumption, the EIA stated.

This commitment to freeze consumption will then be followed later this decade by the first steps to phasedown use of these gases in these developing countries. This work will mirror similar actions seen in markets such as Europe and the US.

The EIA said it rejected the argument to delay the 2024 consumption freeze. The campaign group stated: “The EIA has analysed the available data and does not believe there is sufficient evidence to support this claim. We are therefore recommending that the freeze goes ahead as planned, with additional support provided to countries experiencing challenges on a case-by-case basis”

The EIA told RAC Magazine that it recognized that different countries may face challenges to restrict HFC refrigerants that are expected to be needed for various RACHP applications.

The campaign group said: “These should be addressed on a case-by-case basis, rather than weakening the HFC phasedown at a time when we really need to be thinking about strengthening it to meet our global climate targets. We are confident that the parties can find a solution without undermining the climate impact of the HFC phasedown.”

Other concerns

The EIA said it would also push for a rethink of funding currently provided via the Multilateral Fund (MLF) that has been introduced to offer financial support for developing countries to prepare for the requirements of the Kigali Amendment.

THe fund is currently replenished every three years, with the next round of funding expected to be discussed during the OEWG. The EIA said that the MLF would be important to assist engineers and end users in developing countries to address the simultaneous requirements to phasedown the use of the hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFCs) and HFC products.

The campaign group stated: “If ever there was a time to significantly boost investment in the Montreal Protocol, this is it, and EIA will be urging developed countries to consider a substantial increase in the replenishment compared to previous years.”

The OEWG is also expected to discuss the issue of outdated products and equipment designed for certain HFC products being shipped to developing countries that have less stringent restrictions or quotas for refrigerants.

The EIA said it would be recommended that the signatories present sign up to an ‘anti-dumping framework’ that can be implemented within the Montreal Protocol to limit this practice.

Last year, the Pan-African cooling body U-3ARC issued a call to the global cooling sector to ensure that obsolete equipment from markets such as Europe was not being disposed of in other markets.

The trade group issued a ‘Casablanca Declaration’ that demands an end to the dumping of cooling equipment that is no longer compatible with requirements in the Kigali Amendment, the F-Gas Regulation or Europe’s Ecodesign standards in developing markets such as African countries.

PM