Kigali - The 28th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (MOP), held in Rwanda from 10 to 14 October 2016, has set a milestone for climate change mitigation. The Kigali Amendment to the Protocol now mandates the long-term, phased elimination of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) for industrialised and developing countries.
Industrialised countries are to cut HFC use by 85% by the year 2036, while developing and newly industrialising countries are to achieve cuts of 80% and 85% respectively over the period from 2024 to 2047. The Kigali agreement thus expands the 1987 Montreal Protocol, which already established a commitment to phase out chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in order to protect the ozone layer.
In addition to the historic decision, the Kigali meeting also involved various side events on addressing environmentally sound substitutes for the refrigeration sector. In this field, Proklima (Ouvrira une nouvelle fenêtre) - implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (Ouvrira une nouvelle fenêtre) - showcased on several occasions its approach and projects, funded both by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) (Ouvrira une nouvelle fenêtre)as well as the International Climate Initiative (IKI) (Ouvrira une nouvelle fenêtre)of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) (Ouvrira une nouvelle fenêtre).