Refrigerants Australia executive director, Greg Picker, filed this report from the 34th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol negotiations which was held in Montreal, Canada from 31 October to 4 November, 2022.
A highlight of the negotiations held last week was a high level roundtable discussion which featured a presentation by Kylie Farrelley, general manager of Refrigerant Reclaim Australia (RRA).
The title of the roundtable was “MP@35: The Kigali Amendment and its potential impact on climate.”
The list of presenters was prestigious, and along with Farrelley included: Cécile Siewe, associate assistant deputy minister for the environment and climate change in Canada; Jan Dusík, deputy minister for climate protection Czechia; Dawda Badgie, executive director of the Environmental Protection Agency Gambia; Kerryne James, minister for climate resilience, environment, and renewable energy Grenada; Dr. Abdulla Naseer, minister of state for environment; and Klaus Peter Schmid Spilker, president of Chilean Chamber of Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning.
Farrelley briefly explained the role of RRA and the broader challenges facing industry and government in taking concrete steps to drive emission reductions and energy efficiency.
In particular, she stressed the linkages between decisions on refrigerant management, the HFC phasedown and supporting an economic transition to energy efficient equipment. She used Australia’s experience of reclamation of R22 as an example.
She described how there was general support in 2012 for the reclamation of R22, but over time experience showed that it led to increased emissions. These emissions included direct emissions from equipment and leaks in kit recharged with reclaimed R22. Perhaps even more importantly, it also enabled business owners to continue using inefficient equipment that was past its use by date leading to increased energy use and resultant emissions.
The example, Farrelley explained, is particularly relevant as the HFC phasedown accelerates. She mused whether the experience on R22 should inform future polices, regulations and programs on high GWP gases during the HFC phasedown. In particular, she asked whether the reclamation of R404A – with its very high impact – should be enabled or was it better for both refrigerant emissions and energy demand for this refrigerant to be removed from the market as quickly as possible.
A European panellist commented that this option was not suitable for his country. He explained that the challenges of an over aggressive phasedown meant that his industry needs to reclaim every kg of refrigerant of every type it can to meet demand.
The delegation from Burkino Faso agreed that managing emissions, the phasedown and energy efficiency comprehensively was vital. But he highlighted the challenge they and many other companies faced in managing ozone, climate and energy issues in a unified manner: they struggle with having enough resources and knowledge to develop appropriate solutions and as a result go for more straightforward approaches that may lead to poor – or at least sub-optimal – outcomes. He asked how the Montreal Protocol could assist to enhance their capacity and increase awareness.
A Nigerian official, in part answering the points raised by the representative from Burkino Faso, talked about developing national cooling plans as a means to deliver these sorts of wholistic policies.
Farrelley also discussed the importance of government-industry collaboration in the Montreal Protocol processes. She described the Australian example as cooperative, effective and fundamental to good policy outcomes - neither government nor industry had a monopoly on good ideas and that the best policy had effective buy-in from all stakeholders.