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India to phase out dangerous greenhouse gas

Xinhua, October 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

India announced on Thursday a cut to its use of a potent greenhouse gas as part of its commitment to phase out dangerous substances to curb global warming.

Indian Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave said in Kigali that companies producing hydrofluorocarbon(HFC)-23 in India must "urgently and immediately" destroy the gas by using an efficient and proven technology.

HFC-23 belongs to the HFCs group, a set of 19 gases that are commonly used in air conditioning, refrigeration, foams and aerosols. They can be 10,000 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as greenhouse gases.

Dave said the destruction of HFC-23 could potentially prevent 444 million tons of CO2-equivalent emissions.

The minister made the commitment during the 28th Meeting of Parties to the Montreal Protocol starting Monday in the capital city of Rwanda. The meeting focuses on reaching a global agreement to phase down the production and consumption of HFCs as an amendment to the protocol.

India's announcement comes at a time when the country is under pressure to agree to an earlier phase out of HFCs. "We are very close to the target," said Dave. "We need to act with a sense of urgency, but with a balanced and flexible approach to enable smooth transition."

The trade of HFC-23 credits was banned in 2013 by the European Emissions Trading Scheme, the world's largest carbon market. Other carbon markets followed suit, resulting in the collapse of the HFC-23 credit market.

HFCs have been used as replacements for many ozone-depleting substances that are being phased out under the Montreal Protocol. However, HFCs themselves are powerful greenhouse gases.

According to the United Nations Environment Program, HFC emissions are growing at a rate of about 7 percent annually. If the current mix of HFCs is unchanged, increasing demand could result in HFC emissions of up to 8.8 gigatons of CO2 equivalent per year by 2050.

The Montreal Protocol, signed in 1987, is regarded as the world's most effective environmental treaty. Endi