Ozone Treaty (an "HFC phase-down") May Hold Key to Halting Climate Change

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48211

ENVIRONMENT:

Ozone Treaty May Hold Key to Halting Climate Change

Stephen Leahy

UXBRIDGE, Canada, Aug 25 (IPS) - Will the world take the easy step to phase out "super" greenhouse gases – hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) - using the existing Montreal Protocol ozone treaty? Doing so would be equivalent to preventing the release of 118 to 224 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2050, according to a report by the Environmental Investigation Agency.

That's vitally important. The latest science shows humanity cannot put more than another 700 billion tonnes into the atmosphere over the next 40 years without risking dangerous climate change. At current rates of carbon emissions, that limit will be exceeded in half that time.

"An HFC phase-down under the Montreal Protocol will do far more for climate protection than the Kyoto Protocol has accomplished in its entire history or than Copenhagen will achieve in the next decade," said Samuel LaBudde, senior U.S. climate campaigner for the non-profit Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).

"And it will do so at a fraction of the cost of securing reductions in other sectors and much faster as well," LaBudde told IPS.

The leaders of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico committed to "work together under the Montreal Protocol to phase down the use of HFCs" earlier this month at the North American Summit in Guadalajara, Mexico. This follows a similar commitment made by G8 leaders in July.

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