HFC deal sets tone for wise, clean transition

The world’s envoys just pledged to make the planet safer by reaching a pact to curtail hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). HFCs are the fastest growing greenhouse gases. They are used in air conditioners, fridges and aerosols.
Cutting HFCs will reduce global warming by 0.5 degrees by 2100.
However, the transition from HFC to substitutes like ammonia, water or gasses called hydrofluoroolefins, would involve massive technological costs. The developing countries need finances for the huge technology transfer. And it was due to the issue of finance that the finalization of the deal to phase out HFCs continued to drag on. Now that the agreement has been struck, developed nations should reduce the use of HFCs by 10 percent by 2019 from 2011-2013 levels, and then by 85percent by 2036. China and African countries will start the transition in 2024, while India and Gulf nations must begin the process in 2028.
HFCs were introduced in the 1990s when it was found that cholorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were damaging the ozone layer. HFCs were safe for the ozone but trapped heat and were more threatening for global warming than carbon dioxide. Hence, HFCs turned out to be a curse in disguise. Elimination of HFCs will give a fillip to low carbon economy. It will help the world embrace environmental sustainability.
While the deal on slashing HFCs was being signed in Kigali, Rwanda, a piece of good news came from International Energy Agency (IEA). The world’s most prominent energy forecaster pointed out that it would raise its outlook for wind and solar installations following the galloping growth of renewable industry across the globe. This reflects that the energy policies around the world are changing and renewables are taking centrestage. Use of renewables will go a long way in cutting greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide.
According to a recent report, carbon dioxide emissions from America’s energy industry dropped to the lowest point since 1991. This was because clean energy sources installations increased 9 percent during the first half compared to a year earlier.
The Paris climate agreement, the deal to phase out HFCs and the pact on cutting airplane emissions have all come in 2016. A year back, the pollution critics wouldn’t have foreseen such a rapid progress in the global warming and climate negotiations in such a short span of time. The world has wasted a lot of time
understanding the perils posed to it by a toxic culture. The initial inertia is now giving way to swift action. And this momentum needs to be maintained.
The economies of the world have realized that only by investing in clean
technologies can they make concrete future gains. This approach explains why despite low oil prices, investment in energy efficiency has gone up. There was an increase of 1.8 percent energy efficiency in 2015. The gain was made due to government regulations on vehicles and buildings throughout the world. Energy efficiency is key to combat climate change, reduce global warming and curb the greenhouse gas impact.
HFC’s predecessor CFC was bad. But HFC has been worse. It has done more damage than CFC. Sadly, its villainous form became known quite late. This calls for caution. The alternatives should not defeat their purpose. More research has to go into substitutes. Adoption of alternatives has to be hastened, but it
shouldn’t be done at the cost of a misplaced preference!