India, US set to ramp up efforts to cut use of hydroflurocarbons

NEW DELHI: US to work together on cutting the use of hydroflurocarbons (HFCs), gases in airconditioners and refrigerators that have global warming potential, doesn’t signal a major breakthrough. However, the symbolic value for both countries is immense – it allows the US to claim leadership role in the global effort to tackle climate change by grabbing low-hanging fruit and presents India an opportunity to shed its obstructionist image in international fora.

The joint statement issued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama reiterates the decision taken in September last year. Both leaders once again “recognised” the need to “use the institutions and expertise of the Montreal Protocol to reduce consumption and production of HFCs, while continuing to report and account for the quantities reduced under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.”

The Montreal Protocol is the UN-sponsored agreement concerned with protecting ozone layer, under which the consumption and production of chlorofluorocarbons was phased out and substituted by HFCs. The pledge to “urgently arrange” a meeting of the joint India-US task force on HFCs before the next meeting of the Montreal Protocol scheduled in November may be viewed by some as a move forward. However, the issues — safety, cost and commercial access to new or alternative technologies to replace HFCs — remain unresolved.

“Accounting isn’t the main issue. The real concern is that there is no proven and economically viable alternative that is available. We have held three or four meetings with industry representatives and they raise the issue of viable alternatives,” a senior official told ET.

Following the meeting of the joint task force, “the two sides would thereafter cooperate on next steps to tackle the challenge posed by HFCs to global warming.” There are no timelines for the follow-up action, much like the decision between Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping in June last year.

The Modi-Obama statement reflects a renewed commitment to an existing understanding to work together to reduce the production and consumption of HFCs and to identify viable alternatives. The US has taken the lead to forge a consensus to allow for discussions on phasing out of HFCs under the Montreal Protocol.

The real value of the effort may be limited. HFCs account for about 1% of greenhouse gas emissions, according to UN estimates. Experts say the share could rise to 3% by 2030 and the United Nations Environment Programme estimates HFC emissions at 7% to 19% of carbon dioxide emissions in 2050.

For Washington, India’s decision helps buttress the Obama administration's green credentials and addresses a domestic constituency that see countries such as India and China getting a free pass on tackling climate change. For New Delhi, it is a clear signal that it is unwilling to be the last man standing on phasing out HFCs and that it is mindful of the need to take efforts, even in small measures.