Roundup: Leaders push for conclusive, flexible action on climate change impact

Taking decisive action here in Kigali will inject new energy into the Paris Agreement and will be major step in the fight to limit the effects of climate change on our environment and people, said Rwanda President Paul Kagame.

He was speaking on Thursday during the formal opening of the high-level segment of the 28th Meeting of Parties to the Montreal Protocol (MOP28) in Rwanda's capital Kigali.

Rwanda hosts the high level forum from 8th to 14th October 2016 at the Kigali Convention Centre with an aim of reaching a global agreement on an ambitious amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase down the production and consumption of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

The meeting has attracted international leaders and ozone preservation and low carbon development experts from all over the world to discuss an amendment to the Montreal Protocol treaty.

"We should not be satisfied with a little progress on climate change. There's much work to be done. The responsibility to act lies not only with governments, but also with scientists and the private sector. The faster we act, the lower the financial costs will be and the lighter the environmental burden on our children," Kagame emphasized.

He noted that the urgent threat posed by climate change to the environment, global security and the future of the planet needs to be averted to avoid future climate catastrophes.

The meeting which is attended by delegates from nearly 200 countries from across the globe focuses on amending the Montreal Protocol that will see HFCs phased down to reduce global warming by 0.5 degrees by end of century.

According to Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment Programme, Montreal protocol is the world's most effective environmental treaty which needs strong support to reach its goal.

"It's time to act now and avert the terrible consequences of global warming. We owe it to ourselves and to the world to conclude the process in an orderly and flexible manner. We should embrace our responsibility to do something about it," he said.

Currently, HFCs comprise only 2 percent of total carbon-dioxide-equivalent emissions, but this percentage may increase to as much as 20 percent if society continues on its current emissions trajectory, according to experts.

The threat level of a gas is determined, in part, by its global-warming potential (GWP), a measurement of how much heat a gas can trap in the atmosphere.

Gina McCarthy, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that she was optimistic about nations reaching an agreement by the end of the meeting.

"It's time now we are beginning to focus our attention on reducing harmful gases, including HFC emissions for a healthy planet," She noted.

HFCs are chemicals used in air conditioning, refrigeration, foams and aerosols as replacements for many ozone-depleting substances that are being phased out under the Montreal Protocol.

The Montreal Protocol was first signed on September 16, 1987, and is widely considered to be one of the most effective multilateral environment treaties ever negotiated. It's the only treaty in the United Nations system to which every country is a signatory. Endit