The Kigali Amendment's and China's Critical Roles in Evolving the Montreal Protocol
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The Kigali Amendment's and China's
Critical Roles in Evolving the Montreal
Protocol
Xiaopu Sun and Tad Ferris
he following is a review of the continuing evotu-
tion of the Montreal Protoco on Substances that
Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal Protocol),
including the Kigali Amendment's critical role in
evolving the Montreat Protocot into a full-fledged climate
treaty. Before the Kigali Amendment, the Montreal Proto-
col controlled about 100 ozone-depleting substances (ODSs)
including chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluo-
rocarbons (HCFCs), which are powerful greenhouse gases
(GHGs), and thus the Montreat Protoco has always contrib-
uted significantly to the mitigation of climate change. Stephen
0. Andersen & K. Madhava Sarma, Protecting the Ozone Layer:
The United Nations History 2 (2002). The Kigali Amendment
expanded the scope of the Montreal Protocot to encompass
explicitly the phasedown of super GHGs, or those with very
high global warming potential (GWP) in the form of hydro-
fluorocarbons (HFCs), although they have only a negligible
impact on the ozone layer. We also discuss energy efficiency
improvements to cooing equipment, which, because of the
opportunity to simultaneously upgrade the energy efficiency of
equipment, augments the climate change mitigation potentiat
of the substance phasedowns and reduces related air pollut-
ants by reducing indirect emissions from electricity generation.
Phasing down HFCs has the potentiat to avoid up to 0.50C of
warming by 2100. Y. Xu et aL., The Role of HFCs in Mitigating
21st Century Climate Change, 13 Atmos. Chem. Phys. 6083,
6087 (2013) [hereinafter Role of HFCs]. Improvements to the
energy efficiency of cooing equipment could perhaps double
this. Nihar Shah et aL., Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berke-
ley National Laboratory (LBNL), LBNL-1003671, Benefits of
Leapfrogging to Superefficiency and Low Global Warming Potential
Refrigerants in Room Air Conditioning (2015) [hereinafter Ben-
efits of Leapfrogging].
Shifting to the role of one of the key parties to the Mon-
treat Protoco and Kigali Amendment, we focus on China's
status as the largest historical producer of HCFCs, the largest
producer of HFCs, and the largest producer of refrigerant-using
equipment, specifically room air conditioners (ACs). Further,
we review China's efforts to manage the energy efficiency of
cooing equipment as this relates to China's ability to help
shape the future evolution of the Montreat ProtocoL.
Ms. Sun is senior China counsel at the Institute for Governance &
Sustainable Development (IGSD) and may be reached at xsun@igsd.org.
Mr. Ferris is senior counsel at the IGSD and may be reached at
tferris@igsd.org.
30
Published in Natural Resources & Environment Volume 33, Number 2, Fall 2018. © 2018 by the American Bar As
Kigali Amendment Background
The Kigali Amendment was agreed to on October 15, 2016,
after intensive negotiations involving the Montreal Proto-
col's 197 parties. See Amendment to the Montreat Protocot
on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, Oct. 15, 2016,
U.N.T.C., C.N.827.2016.TREATIES.XXVII.2.f. The Kigali
Amendment brings the power of universal adoption and com-
putsory party commitments under the Montreal Protoco to
the problem of controlling HFCs.
HFCs are factory-made chemicals principally produced for
use in refrigeration, air conditioning, insulating foams, aero-
sol propellants, and metered dose inhalers, with minor uses
as solvents and for fire protection. HFCs were developed to
rapidly replace CFCs and HCFCs under the Montreal Pro-
tocol However, HFCs trap thousands of times more heat in
the atmosphere per unit of mass than carbon dioxide (CO2).
HFCs are no longer needed because environmentally supe-
rior atternatives and substitutes have been commercialized
and will continue to be commercialized as a result of the busi-
ness opportunities of the HFC phasedown. Hence, the Kigali
Amendment represents the expansion of the Montreat Pro-
tocoL's scope from a focus on ozone-depleting substances to
explicitly covering powerful climate pollutants. The Kigali
Amendment is an important force in shifting to a new genera-
tion of ozone-safe and climate-friendly refrigerants.
Possible substitutions for high-GWP HFCs include natu-
ral refrigerants, hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs), and lower-GWP
HFCs. Natural refrigerants include ammonia (GWP of 0), car-
bon dioxide (GWP of 1), and hydrocarbons (GWP of 3 to 6).
There are numerous HFOs with a GWP less than 1, and lower
GWP HFCs include HFC-32 (GWP of 677) and HFC-152a
(GWP of 138). See Durwood Zaetke et aL., Primer on HFCs
table 3 (Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development
(IGSD), Working Paper, 2018) [hereinafter Primer on HFCs].
A key to achieving universal support from the Kigali
Amendment parties was the successful negotiation of differen-
tial phase-down commitments for developed and developing
countries. See Durwood Zaetke, Historic Kigali Amendment
Eliminates Warming from One of Six Main Greenhouse Gases, 48
Trends (2017). As has always been the case in Montreat Proto-
col phasedowns, developed countries (Non-Article 5 Parties)
will go first, followed by a grace period, after which the devel-
oping countries (Article 5 Parties) must act. In this case, the
developed country parties will lead the HFC phasedown, with
reductions beginning on or before 2019 and continuing down
to 15 percent of baseline leveLs by 2036. In an innovation
under the Kigali Amendment, there are two separate groups
ociation. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved.
not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.
NR&E Fall 2018
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The Kigali Amendment's and China's Critical Roles in Evolving the Montreal Protocol
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