Countries to Discuss Phasing Out Dangerous Green House Gases Ahead of Paris Climate Change COP21

1 - 5 November 2015 at the Conrad Hotel, Dubai

Who: United Arab Emirates Minister of Environment and Water Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner, and high-level participants from Australia, France, Maldives, Netherlands, Uruguay, USA and the World Bank

What:  The 27th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (27th MOP)

Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer will consider, at meeting hosted by the Government of the United Arab Emirates in Dubai, four proposals submitted by 40 countries to amend the Protocol to phase down the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs),

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. HFCs are potent greenhouse gases that contribute to the warming of the climate. HFC emissions are growing rapidly, at a rate of about 7% per year. If the current mix of HFCs is unchanged, increasing demand could result in HFC emissions of up to 8.8 gigatonnes carbon dioxide equivalent per year by 2050. This could potentially offset the climate benefits achieved by the Montreal Protocol, which has averted greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to more than 135 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide.

HFC phase-down would provide a sizable benefit for the climate. It would avoid the equivalent of 100 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide and more than 0.5°C of warming by 2050, according to a report by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. It would also bring significant energy efficiency benefits that past phase-outs have always catalyzed when a refrigerant was changed. 

The 27th MOP will comprise a three-day preparatory segment followed by a high-level segment that will be opened on 4 November by UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner and United Arab Emirates Minister of Environment and Water Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad.