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Refrigerants Australia executive director, Greg Picker, returned from the UN Montreal Protocol negotiations in Vienna hopeful agreement can be reached on a HFC phasedown before the end of the year. In this article, he provides an overview of the discussions to date.

It was after midnight when negotiations on an amendment to the Montreal Protocol concluded in Vienna. While the talks – the 38th meeting of the open-ended working group - are not formally finished, discussions in Vienna ceased. This meeting will recommence in Kigali (Rwanda) in early October, immediately prior to the final sprint to see if an agreement can be reached this year.

2016 is the best, last chance to get an agreement. There has been a number of political agreements struck saying an HFC phasedown will be finalised this year.

This is a high profile aim of the Obama administration with Secretary of State John Kerry and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy both in attendance in Vienna to build support for a phasedown. Given the US Presidential election is in early November, the Kigali talks represent the last chance for the next several years in reaching an agreement.

This leads to two fundamental questions – were the negotiations in Vienna useful in moving towards an agreement and can a deal be struck in Africa in less than three month’s time?

The challenge with the Vienna talks is that while much of the world has wanted to agree on a phasedown for the last five years or more, agreement to actually start formal negotiations was only struck in November last year.

In an April meeting in Geneva and at the start of the Vienna talks countries identified seven fundamental challenges to agreeing to a phase own. As a result of a marathon effort in the first two days, nations agreed that the challenges could be resolved.

Undoubtedly this was good news – but countries had not yet begun hearing various ideas on the details of an agreement and what they saw as critically important. Much of the last six days was spent with countries airing their views.

Only in the last day or two did countries try and move towards some agreement by getting elements of an amendment on a single piece of paper. This step is seen as essential as it represents the formal opening bids from countries. Once details are on paper, negotiators can seek common ground and compromise.

In the end the “Vienna paper” only contained details on various options for base years (if HFC consumption is to be reduced by a given percentage, base years tell you from when that percentage can be calculated), as well as when a freeze in consumption of HFCs could commence.

Here are some of the various views. For Saudi Arabia and Gulf States (Base year: 2024-2026/Freeze year: 2028)
China, Pakistan (Base year: 2019-2025/Freeze year: 2025-2026), India (Base: 2028-2030/Freeze: 2031),
Africa, Pacific Island Countries, much of Latin America, European Union, European Union, Japan, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway (Base: 2017-2019/Freeze: 2021),  Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, Argentina, English-speaking Caribbean countries, Cuba (Base: 2021-2023/Freeze: 2025), Iran (Base: 2024-2027/Freeze: 2029).

Proposals for Developed Countries are:European Union, Japan, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway
(Base Years: 2011-2013/Freeze: 90% of baseline in 2019), Russia and Belarus (Base Years: 2011-2013/Freeze: 2020 - 100% of baseline).


These timelines represents only an early start. Many more items need to be firstly described and then agreed, including both details on how a phasedown would work (such as reduction rates and end points), as well as critical supplementary issues like financial support and exemptions. Vienna represented the first genuine but early steps towards an agreement.

The pressure for a deal is tremendous, the need for compromise and goodwill is huge and time is short.

As they say in baseball, “this is why they play the game.” We should know on October 15 what the result will be (this is the day after the talks are scheduled to end).

The Standards Issue

One of the positive attributes of the Montreal Protocol is the tradition of working collaboratively with a mixed range of participants to cooperatively address issues as they arise.

There is an example of that from the recent Vienna negotations.

One of the concerns associated with a HFC phasedown has been recognition that standards relating to refrigerants will need to be promptly revised to ensure they can be incorporated into building codes and the like: failure to get this crucial work done threatens the capacity to rollout new technology and meet a phasedown schedule.

There was also concern that research conducted by any interested party could be biased.

The concerns held by a number of countries were also exacerbated by a lack of understanding about how standards processes work.

Some nations – particularly China and the European Union – arrived in Vienna suggesting that the Montreal Protocol itself should look to develop its own standard or somehow mandate to international standards bodies how they should go about their work.

Industry responded to these concerns proactively. There were a number of side events on standards which provided details on how standards are developed, an explanation of how companies use standards in developing products, and analysis of how countries can implement a HFC phasedown today, despite not all standards yet being updated (Refrigerants Australia was responsible for this last presentation).

The crucial moment emerged when US industry bodies Air Conditioning, Heeating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) and American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) were able to discuss their plans for fast-tracking research over the next two years to incorporate standards.

Along with a contribution from the US Department of Energy and several private companies, they already have nearly $6 million to fund research on risks associated with A2L refrigerants, but – thanks to timely top-ups – to also study risks associated with A2 and A3 refrigerants.

The real breakthrough came as they offered countries the opportunity to contribute to this effort, either by offering funding or by undertaking their own research that will go through the ASHRAE QA process to ensure it is robust and will be considered by international standards bodies.

Saudi Arabia and China are already on board and there is interest in other places including the European Union, New Zealand and Australia.

This practical approach took an issue that could have derailed the entire HFC phasedown talks.

The capacity of the Montreal Protocol process to respond practically to issues and realise that industry can be partners to resolve impediments is one of the reasons the Montreal Protocol is the most effective global treaty we have ever seen.