India and the United States on Friday reached a compromise deal on phasing out hydrofluorocarbons, ozone-depleting pollutants used in refrigerators and air-conditioners. The talks took place on the sidelines of a conference in Kigali, Rwanda, on ending the use of the greenhouse gases by 2050 through amendments to the 1989 Montreal Protocol, The Indian Express reported.
The US has agreed to India’s demand for a separate timeline for itself and a group of other countries for the removal of HFCs from their economies. New Delhi will first attempt to implement a 10% reduction by 2032 using the average of the production and consumption of the gases between 2024-’26 as a baseline. In return, India agreed to implement a “freeze year” (where HFC production and consumption do not exceed that of the baseline average) in 2028.
However, the country will conduct a technology review in 2022 to determine if “cleaner alternatives to HFC chemicals” are available to Indian industries, according to lead negotiator Manoj Kumar Singh. If alternatives are not found, the country will attempt to change the freeze year to 2030, Singh said. The compromise deal was reached after day-long negotiations between both sides, with Union Environment Minister AM Dave meeting US Secretary of State John Kerry twice on the matter. This also comes after India ratified the Paris climate change agreement on October 2.
The overall deal between nations globally was announced on Saturday. While developed economies will start the gradual reduction of HFC gases by 2019, more than 100 developing nations, including China, will start the process by 2024. Each group will use different baseline averages to determine the amount of reduction.
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