Copenhagen, Denmark – As Ministers meet in Copenhagen desperately seeking to find a set of meaningful mitigation actions negotiators have provided the ray of hope in the form of a draft agreement to work with the Montreal Protocol to eliminate a group of greenhouse gases called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

Often referred to as ‘super’ greenhouse gases, many HFCs have global warming
potentials thousands of times greater than CO2, and have become the primary
replacements for ozone destroying chemicals used in refrigeration and air-conditioning, which have been phased out under the Montreal Protocol.

Atmospheric concentrations of common HFCs are growing at over 20% per year. Recent estimates project that HFC emissions will increase to levels similar to the US’s current total greenhouse gases emissions by 2050 (between 5.5 and 8.8 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year) if action is not taken, substantially destroying the reductions of other GHGs achieved under the UNFCCC. This is despite the growing availability of climate friendly refrigerants.

“In order to avoid the “tipping points” for catastrophic climate change predicted to occur in the next decades, rapid action to phase-out HFCs is the best available opportunity to produce significant, immediate and measurable benefits for climate,” Mark Roberts of the Environmental Investigation Agency.

The Montreal Protocol has successfully phased out the production and consumption of ozone destroying chemicals in the same industrial sectors now using HFCs. Its proven technology transfer and funding mechanisms are globally admired. In addition it has the scientific and technical expertise to immediately implement a phase-out of HFC production and consumption, while leaving HFC emissions in the UNFCCC basket.

"As demand for air conditioning and refrigeration grows worldwide, there is a clear opportunity for the developing world to leapfrog the mistakes of the developed world" said Paula Tejon of Greenpeace.