The adoption of the Appendix to the Montreal Protocol on reducing fluorinated greenhouse gases (HFC) successfully concluded the 28th meeting of the parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (10–14 October 2016, Kigali, Rwanda). The Slovak delegation led by the Slovak Minister for the Environment, László Sólymos, conducted the negotiations on behalf of the EU.
The minister considers the Montreal Protocol to be the most successful global environment agreement, which has made a substantial contribution to the recovery of the ozone layer by reducing the production and consumption of freons. ‘On the other hand, some fluorinated greenhouse gases (HFC) that have replaced freons substantially contribute to global warming. Today, we have a great opportunity and responsibility to commit to specific objectives which will lead to the gradual reduction of HFC production and their replacement by energy-efficient and climate-friendly alternatives,’ said László Sólymos.
The negotiations resulted in the adoption of the Appendix to the Montreal Protocol, the implementation of which will contribute to reducing the increase in global temperature by 0.5 °C, which was agreed this April in Geneva. The Appendix is therefore one of the first concrete steps to fulfilment of the objectives set out in the Paris Agreement ratified by the EU last week.
[This article originally appeared on the website of the Slovak EU Council Presidency, www.eu2016.sk]
2019 has only just begun, but it is already hard to imagine that there will be other extreme weather events with disastrous consequences such as cyclone Idai happening again this year. In all likelihood, such events will continue to occur as 2019 rolls on. Idai is, once more, proof of how devastating and toxic the mix of climate change, extreme weather events and poverty can be: Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe – countries that rank low in human development but contribute very little to global greenhouse gas emissions – suffer from some of the worst impacts of climate change.
adelphi has relaunched its exhibition Environment, Conflict and Cooperation (ECC) Exhibition to illustrate how unprecedented environmental changes interact with social, political, and economic risks to exacerbate conflict. We invite you to explore our online exhibition and to learn more about urgent issues of our time: climate, energy, migration, extractives, food and water.
Climate security risks are, by all interpretations, a global threat. But when it comes to setting a political climate security agenda, a handful of countries stand out. In an interview with Climate Diplomacy, Michaela Spaeth, Director for Energy and Climate Policy at the German Federal Foreign Office, highlights some of Germany’s goals and challenges in forwarding the issue during its 2019-20 membership in the UN Security Council.
The Planetary Security Conference 2019, which concluded on 20 February, saw a number of workshops being held on the Sahel region and specifically Mali, one of the Conference’s three spotlight regions. These workshops examined the region’s climate-water-security risks as well as the #doable actions and solutions to address these issues.