THERE is a need for the Philippines to accede to the Kigali amendment to show its sincere support to serious efforts and initiatives to assuage the impact of climate change.
This was emphasized by Christian Aid Climate Change advisor for Asia and the Middle East Jessica Dator-Bercilla and Climate Change Reality Project Philippines manager Radne Galicha in a press conference Friday, June 22, at the Vice Governor's Conference Hall in Provincial Capitol, Bacolod City to impart their knowledge about climate change.
The accelerated accession to the Kigali amendment will help propel the Philippines towards a low-carbon, resilient road to sustainable development. As both temperatures and energy demand continue to increase, so does the urgency for immediate action from all sectors. The time has come for Filipinos to keep an eye on another invisible threat and prevent its impacts from happening before it is too late, they said.
They pointed out the country has already achieved a key milestone on in its fight against climate change when it ratified the Paris Agreement last year. Being highly vulnerable to the impacts of extreme events, it is important for the country to take immediate action towards reducing the impacts of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide in the global and local climate.
Galicha said the government needs to pay attention to the growing threat of "super greenhouse gases" such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), which are purely manmade substances commonly used as cooling agents such as air-conditioning, refrigeration systems, fire retardants and solvents for cleaning products. They are classified as short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) generally staying in the atmosphere for shorter periods than greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide.
HFCs were manufactured as substitutes for ozone-depleting substances (ODS) such as CFCs and HCFCs which were globally banned under the Montreal Protocol in 1987. In contrast to these substances, HFCs cause much less degradation to the ozone layer. The ODS phaseout has led to the gradual healing of the ozone layer, which is necessary for maintaining environmental stability, they said.
Nearly 47 percent of global HFC consumption comes from refrigeration and non-mobile air-conditioning from residential and commercial areas. Around 24% of HFC use is for automobile air-conditioning and 11% comes from industrial foaming agents, they said.
HFCs have high global warming potential (GWP) or a measure of how much heat a greenhouse gas traps in the atmosphere.
Moreover, to complement the phasedown, participating countries are required to implement a licensing system for the import and export of HFCs. Article 5, parties are also restricted from HFC trading with non-parties starting on January 1, 2033, given the ratification by at least 70 nations.
For developing countries, the Montreal Protocol offers financial mechanisms for providing technical and financial cooperation such as the multi-lateral fund. Additional support is further offered for parties implementing early phasedowns. Countries are also encouraged to collaborate with each other to meet their respective targets.
The Kigali amendment should be the key part of the country's policy on environment and climate change, they pointed out.
The passage of energy efficiency legislation such as the approved Senate Bill No. 1531 which is currently pending in the House of Representatives would lead to an increased demand for energy efficiency projects and institute fiscal incentives.
HFCs are responsible for only 1% of global warming. High temperatures will lead to increased emissions due to a projected increased in air-conditioning and refrigeration among consumers, especially in developing nations.
Without proper measures to reduce emissions, HFCs would constitute around 7 to 19% of total greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, they said, stressing a study published in 2013 revealed that an accelerated global HFC phasedown can prevent 0.5 degree Celsius of global warming by 2100 which is around 90% of the temperature increase they would have caused otherwise.
This makes the HFC phasedown important for achieving the 1.5 degree Celsius target under the Paris Agreement. Thus, it is crucial for all countries to rapidly reduce their emissions, they stressed
For now, there were already 37 countries that ratified the Kigali amendment.