Thirty-Fourth Meeting of the Parties

Title: Mainstreaming HFC Transitions in Ensuring Access to Cooling in India

Description: India released its India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) in March 2019, one of the first of its kind globally. Since then, India has taken several steps for implementation of the ICAP. In addition, in September 2021, in a big boost for the future of climate friendly cooling, India ratified the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.

As India charts its way forward for Kigali Amendment implementation best aligned with ICAP implementation, it is important to think through some of the challenges that will emerge for the cooling sector to mainstream low GWP refrigerants and build solutions ahead of time. With the expected massive rise in India’s demand for cooling in the next few decades, solutions that are innovative, affordable, and scalable are required. To make this happen, India will need an ecosystem of right kind of policies and business models and access to finance to facilitate a smooth transition to climate friendly refrigerants and energy efficient cooling equipment. In this context, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) are organizing this side event that brings together representatives from government, global coalitions, industry, and civil society to discuss gaps, barriers, and opportunities to promote sustainable access to cooling in India. The side event discussions will focus on:

a) Top down and bottom-up approaches to implement India Cooling Action Plan and mainstreaming alternative low GWP refrigerants.
b) Opportunities for India to maximize HFC phase down gains (in terms of emissions and time) and
c) Ways of leveraging domestic and international sources of climate finance including the Multilateral Fund to support innovative cooling solutions
 

Contact:
Mr. Ashish Saraswat, TERI
ashish.saraswat@teri.res.in

Ms. Prima Madan, NRDC
pmadan@nrdc.org

Title: Adding Nitrous Oxide to the Montreal Protocol

Description: Nitrous oxide (N2O) is the largest remaining threat to the ozone layer. As the world’s most successful multilateral environmental agreement, the Montreal Protocol should look to the future and seek ways to address N2O. This side event will provide an update of the latest science, as well as national and international experiences and initiatives to address underlying drivers, particularly in sectors with cost-effective, readily available mitigation solutions. It will also discuss potential avenues for the Montreal Protocol to deepen the understanding of the ozone and climate impacts of N2O and solutions available to achieve early wins.

Contact:
Mr. David Kanter
david.kanter@nyu.edu

Title: Climate Intervention and Stratospheric Ozone

Description: Introduction to climate intervention and consequences for future stratospheric ozone based on the findings of the 2022 ozone assessment and open floor for questions.

Contact:
Mr. David Fahey
David.W.Fahey@noaa.gov

Title: Shedding light on a blind spot through the Climate and Ozone Protection Alliance: leveraging the vast emissions reduction potential of correct disposal of ODS and HFC banks                                                                                                                           

Description: The global demand for refrigeration and air conditioning continues to grow and with that the stock of appliances, foams and products containing substances with a high global warming potential. Some of them even contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer. These so-called banks of Ozon Depleting Substances (ODS) and Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are not being managed or disposed in an environmentally sound manner and emit substances equivalent to approximately 1.5 Gt CO2 each year.

Currently, there are no global agreements in place to address the challenge of accumulating ODS and HFC banks in old cooling equipment. As a result, this specific emission reduction potential has remained largely untapped up to now: The newly launched Climate and Ozone Protection Alliance (COPA) brings together all relevant actors to jointly work on urgently needed solutions for ODS and HFC banks. COPA will support member countries and partners in exploiting GHG emission reduction potential in ODS and HFC banks management, thereby making a significant contribution to achieving partner countries’ mitigation and nationally determined contributions (NDCs) targets and contributing to the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to below 1.5°C increase.

The focus of the side event is to present the recently launched Climate and Ozone Protection Alliance and how the alliance can support countries in taking action in ODS and HFC banks management.

Contact:
Ms. Christin Johnen
christin.johnen@giz.de

Title: Taking stock of existing RAC training tools and exploring future training needs and approaches
 
Description: Many Article 5 countries have embarked on their Kigali Amendment Plan (KIP) preparation phases. In parallel, Stage II of the HCFC Phase-out Management Plan (HPMP) implemented by UNIDO, GIZ and other agencies under MLF-funded projects promotes alternative refrigerants and RAC equipment handling flammable refrigerants.

Various training tools are made available to handle flammable refrigerants by GIZ, UNEP and other stakeholders in the RAC sector. However, while some Article 5 countries take advantage of them, others are lost, not knowing how to navigate and make the best use of the RAC training tools.

Under the KIP, certain harmonization is needed in dealing with alternative refrigerants, particularly A2L and A3. In addition, training centres and refrigeration associations are primary users of the training tools. How can we better design and distribute future RAC training tools in consultation with all the key stakeholders in each country? 

Contact:

Mr. Fukuya Iino

F.IINO@unido.org

Title: A look to the future series part 3: Leveraging the Montreal Protocol to protect the ozone layer & prevent climate tipping points                                                                      
 
Description: The Montreal Protocol has the authority and institutional capacity to do more in reducing emissions of ozone-depleting greenhouse gases including evaluating opportunities for accelerated action; greater action to address mobile air conditioning; and narrowing the exemption of ODS and HFC feedstocks to reduce plastic and pollution, among others. This event will provide the experts and opportunity for a broad discussion as we continue to look to the horizon of the Protocol’s potential.

Contact:

Ms. Amelia Murphy   

amurphy@igsd.org