UK leads the world to tackle global warming

The UK has become one of the first nations to commit to an agreement to reduce emissions from appliances so as to help prevent global warming.

The Kigali amendment to the UN Montreal Protocol commits nations to reducing hydrofluorocarbon greenhouse gases (HFCs) by 85 per cent between 2019 and 2036.

A move by the UK to cut down on harmful emissions from appliances such as air conditioning units and refrigerators means harmful greenhouse gases could be prevented by rising up to 11 per cent by 2050.

The UK will be one of the first countries to approve the agreement.

The Montreal Protocol has already successfully phased out 98 per cent of ozone depleting substances, including chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons. As a result, the ozone layer is showing signs of recovery.

The Kingali amendment goes even further and extends targets to HFCs. Although HFCs do not harm the ozone layer, they have a global warming potential thousands of times greater than carbon dioxide. This deal is likely to avoid close to 0.5 degrees Celsius of global warming by the end of the century.

The UK has already begun to phase down HFCs in accordance with EU law which requires a cut of 79 per cent in HFCs placed on the EU market between 2015 and 2030.

The Montreal Protocol will result in an additional UK reduction of equivalent to around 4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide beyond what would be achieved under the EU Regulation alone. The value of that carbon saving is an estimated £1.56 billion the cost at around £390 million, representing a net benefit to the UK of £1.17 billion.

Michael Gove, Environment Secretary, said: “Adopting this ambitious target will mark the UK as a world leader in tackling climate change. Not only will this deal reduce global carbon emissions by the equivalent of around 70 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2050 - the same as 600 coal fired power stations would produce during that time – it will also help to protect our health, our agriculture and the wider environment.”