Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer: Kigali amendment

The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety adopted the report by Kateřina KONEČNÁ (GUE/NGL, CZ) on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer.

The committee recommended the European Parliament to give its consent to conclusion of the agreement.

In the explanatory memorandum accompanying the report, it was recalled that the 28th meeting of the parties to the Montreal Protocol, which took place from 10 to 15 October 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda, ended in the adoption of an amendment to the Montreal Protocol. The amendment adds hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) to the list of substances regulated by the Protocol.

HFCs are active greenhouse gases whose global warming potential can be one thousand times greater than that of carbon dioxide.

The Kigali amendment provides as follows:

• most economically developed countries have to implement the first reductions in HFCs during the period 2019-2023;
• most developing countries will begin to freeze HFC consumption and production between 2024 and 2028;
• the remaining countries will commit their efforts between 2028 and 2031.

The Kigali Protocol shall signal its commitment to making a substantial contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and thereby meeting the targets set in the Paris Agreement. For this reason, Member States shall be called on to complete the process of ratifying the amendment according to the proposed schedule.