Forward thinking: The agreement changes the timetable that had been set in 1987 under the Montreal Protocol, which aims to eliminate the use of HCFCs and related chemicals, often found in refrigerators, fire retardants and hairspray.
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MONTREAL: Nearly 200 countries have signed a U.N. agreement to accelerate the elimination of chemicals that threaten the ozone layer and exacerbate global warming.
Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), hailed the agreement by governments to move forward bans on dangerous hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) as a "vital signal" in efforts to slow climate change and welcomed China's willingness to back the deal.
"Historic" negotiation
"It is perhaps the most important breakthrough in an international environment negotiation process for at least five or six years," said Steiner. "Historic is an often over-used word but not in the case of this agreement made in Montreal. Governments had a golden opportunity to deal with the twin challenges of climate change and protecting the ozone layer and governments took it."
The agreement came on Saturday, ahead of an unprecedented U.N. summit today, aimed at breaking the deadlock in efforts to craft a global treaty on greenhouse gases.
Under the ozone-depleting chemical deal reached at the conference, held in Montreal last week, developed countries will phase out the production of HCFCs by 2020 and developing states have until 2030 – 10 years earlier than previously agreed.
The agreement changes the timetable that had been set in 1987 under the Montreal Protocol, which aims to eliminate the use of HCFCs and related chemicals, often found in refrigerators, fire retardants and hairspray.
Global cooling
Aside from speeding up repair to hole in the ozone layer – reducing these chemicals in the atmosphere will also slow the rate of global warming.
"The precise and final savings in terms of greenhouse gas emissions could amount to several billions of tonnes illustrating the complementary nature of international environmental agreements," said Steiner.
Canada's Environment Minister John Baird called the success of the week-long meeting of 190 countries and the European Union a major step in battling global warming.
"The agreement to speed up the elimination of HCFCs will go down in the books as another successful chapter in the Montreal protocols," he said. "But it will also stand out as a pivotal moment in the international fight against global warming ... It's no secret that the Montreal Protocol had the benefit of helping the ozone layer and slowing devastating effects of climate change."
The aim of the original and newest Montreal agreements were to slow and eventually help reverse the expanding hole in the ozone layer, which protects the earth and people from harmful solar rays which can cause skin cancer and accelerate global warming.
Steiner praised China, one of the world's biggest manufacturers and users of HCFCs, for its support of the negotiations.
Cut by half
The deal moves forward both an end to production and a complete phase out of the use of HCFCs, which originally became popular with manufacturers as a substitute for more dangerous chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) formally popular as industrial coolants.
In the agreement developing countries agreed to freeze HCFC production and consumption of the chemicals in 2013 rather than 2016. They will totally phase out production by 2030. Developed countries are committed to reducing HCFC consumption by 75 per cent in 2010, and completely phase out consumption and production by 2020.
According to a U.S. government statement, the effect will be to reduce by 47 per cent potential emissions into the atmosphere of ozone-damaging chemicals.
The UNEP said that the success of the Montreal conference provides a stimulus for the UN climate convention negotiations scheduled for Bali, Indonesia in December.
