Australia has become one of the first 10 countries to ratify the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, a major international agreement to reduce global production and use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) which are highly potent synthetic greenhouse gases.
Ratification of the amendment was confirmed in a joint statement released by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop, and Minister for the Environment and Energy, Josh Frydenberg.
This early ratification cements the leading role Australia played in reaching this agreement, including as the co-chair of the negotiations which concluded in October 2016, the Ministers said.
Under the Kigali Amendment, Australia and other developed countries will reduce the use of HFCs by 85 per cent by 2036.
Action to phasedown HFCs will contribute towards meeting Australia’s Paris Agreement target of reducing emissions by 26 to 28 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030.
The federal government has already passed legislation to implement the phasedown in Australia. Imports of HFCs will start reducing in 2018 over a gradual step-down path until 2036.
"The long phasedown period means that consumers can continue to use equipment with HFCs until the end of its useful life. There are already new technologies on the market which use fewer HFCs or different technologies altogether," the Ministers said.
"The Kigali Amendment replicates the successful approach taken under the Montreal Protocol to phaseout ozone depleting substances, 99 per cent of which have been phased out to date.
"This has seen a significant reduction of those substances in the atmosphere and predictions that the ozone layer will be repaired by the middle of this century in the mid-latitudes and about 20 years later in Antarctica.
"Australia has long been a strong supporter and leader of action on the ozone layer under the Montreal Protocol. With universal acceptance, it is widely considered the world’s most successful environmental protection agreement."