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Roundup: Rwanda to ratify Montreal protocol amendment by 2017

Xinhua, November 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

Rwanda will ratify the ambitious Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol by early next year, according to the ministry of natural resources on Monday.

Vincent Biruta, Rwanda minister of natural resources, told reporters that Rwanda intends to ratify the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol by early 2017.

"We recognize the climate imperative of the amendment. The Kigali amendment is an example of what we can achieve by coming together with a focus on action. Parties to the protocol should speed up ratification processes at the national level. We must support each other in this effort if we are to achieve the ambition set before us," he said.

Last month in the Rwandan capital Kigali, the world witnessed the amendment of Montreal Protocol to curb global warming hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in largest climate breakthrough since Paris.

HFCs substances which are used mainly in refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment, have a global warming effect up to 15,000 times greater than carbon dioxide and are the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emission, according to climate change experts.

The small central African country has already ratified the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Biruta said that Rwanda is committed to any effort geared towards addressing climate change disastrous effects.

The ratification of amendment to the protocol will signify the international community's commitment to practical action to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement -- limiting global warming to 2°C, and the more ambitious target of 1.5°C.

The Kigali Amendment is the result of seven years of negotiation. Under the amendment, developed countries will start to phase down HFCs by 2019 while developing countries will freeze their levels of consumption in 2024, with some starting the freeze in 2028.

According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), 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.

Montreal Protocol is regarded as the world's most effective environmental treaty.

It 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