The Kingdom of Morocco, as President of COP 22, and the Government of Rwanda, as host of MOP 28, are committed to taking the lead on one of the key issues arising from and overlapping both gatherings: passing an ambitious amendment to the Montreal Protocol as part of efforts to maximize appliance energy efficiency and protect the climate.
Energy efficiency of appliances is one of the biggest mitigation and development opportunities that the world can implement immediately. Energy efficiency gains in the air conditioning sector alone could reduce global electricity demand by over 11% by 2030 and improved efficiency of room air conditioners could prevent up to 100 billion tons of CO2 emissions by 2050.
A break through in this effort is the ongoing and positive negotiations of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol to reach a global agreement to phase down consumption and production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) – a potent greenhouse gas mainly used in refrigeration systems.
Parties have presented proposals to amend the Montreal Protocol to phase down HFCs and use the proven flexibility, resources, and experience of this successful and fair international agreement to avoid the equivalent of another 100 to 200 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions in the near-term to 2050. Successfully amending the Montreal Protocol could avoid up to 0.5 degrees Celsius of warming by the end of the century.
To seize this historic opportunity, it is important the amendment to the Montreal Protocol be accompanied by strong efforts to promote energy efficiency in air conditioners, refrigerators, and other appliances.
The Kingdom of Morocco and the Government of Rwanda stand united to work with all Parties to the Montreal Protocol to pass an ambitious amendment in October in Kigali. Doing so would be the most impactful step the world can take this year to achieve the global targets set under the Paris Agreement. Passing the amendment on HFCs would also signal the international community’s commitment to move from targets to the necessary tangible action to combat climate change – a key focus of the upcoming COP 22 in Marrakesh.
Morocco and Rwanda, along with ministers from Latin America, the Caribbean, North America, Europe and Africa, stood together during a recent meeting of the Climate & Clean Air Coalition in Vienna and formed a high level Friends of an Ambitious Amendment Coalition. As host for the Meeting of Parties in October, President of the Conference of the Parties in November, and as climate champions, translating this good will into an ambitious amendment is a top climate priority for the Government of Rwanda and the Kingdom of Morocco.
It is encouraging to see the private sector and philanthropic organizations react positively to our political determination to adopt the amendment in Kigali. The new and additional fast-start funding pledged to promote energy efficiency is a welcomed compliment to the proposed amendment and to the essential funding from donor countries for the Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund. Both the Kingdom of Morocco and the Government of Rwanda welcome and commend additional contributions to the Multilateral Fund.
By working together in the spirit of international cooperation, the Kingdom of Morocco and the Government of Rwanda are confident that the Parties will adopt an ambitious amendment to the Montreal Protocol. The positive impact on the lives of the world’s citizens and our planet would be felt for generations to come.
Importance of Energy Efficiency for Global Climate Action
Electricity demand for air conditioning is enormous and increasing every day. For example, the additional electricity demand generated by new in-room air conditioners purchased between 2010 and 2020 is projected to grow to more than 600 billion kilowatt-hours globally by 2020. This growth poses a challenge to electricity grids already struggling to satisfy existing demand.
At the 7th Clean Energy Ministerial in San Francisco in July 2016, India, China, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Canada launched ‘The Advanced Cooling Challenge Campaign” to urge governments and industry to develop and deploy super-efficient, smart, climate-friendly, and affordable cooling technologies at scale.
Improving energy efficiency as part of the implementation of the HFCs phase down is crucial, not only to protect the climate, but also to promote green development in Africa. If we can improve the average efficiency of air conditioners sold in 2030 by 30%, we could avoid the equivalent of as many as 1,500 medium size peak power plants (500-megawatt) by 2030, and up to 2,500 by 2050.
