Delegates from more than 150 countries meeting in Rwanda reached what was described as a “monumental” deal by agreeing an amendment to the Montreal protocol on the phase out of the use of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), the gases used in air conditioning and refrigeration.

BSRIA chief executive Julia Evans (pictured) said: “This is excellent news and delivers a deal that is good for the planet. The phasing out of HFCs could help reduce climate change by 0.5°C and has the potential to take 70 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by 2050.”

She continued: “For some nations the phasing out period for HFCs is long, which is of concern, but it is hoped that the phase out will develop momentum in the market which could see the transition happen over a reduced period. With active help of the industry, manufacturers of both refrigerants and products can accelerate the adoption of low Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants. This is important: as an industry we have a key role to play so let’s act now'.

The European Fluorocarbons Technical Committee (EFCTC) has also welcomed the agreement.

The amendment establishes a clear long-term regulatory framework and time frame to stimulate research, development and deployment to progress at the required speed and for manufacturers of equipment and products to undertake the necessary programmes to adopt lower GWP alternatives.

Nick Campbell, chairman of EFCTC, said: 'The overall global warming impact of HFC emissions worldwide is currently estimated to represent less than 2% of the total global greenhouse gases emissions. Nevertheless, as HFCs are the preferred solution for many societal needs because of their safety and performance advantages, the agreement will help control the increasing demand due to the replacement of HCFCs as well as the rising use of HFCs for refrigeration and air conditioning, especially in developing countries.'

'The final agreement meets the needs of all nations and takes into account industrial planning timescales and the capacity of industry to invest in new lower GWP products and applications.'

Encouraging progress is being made by HFC producers to find low GWP alternatives for a range of applications including technical aerosols, mobile air-conditioning, insulating foams and commercial refrigeration. Already a number of alternative fluids have been identified and are already in use; for example, for mobile air-conditioning; an alternative has a GWP of less than 1 compared to a GWP of 1300 for the HFC currently being used.

Separately, India has announced that its chemical industry must collect and destroy emissions of its most potent greenhouse gas, HFC-23, with immediate effect.

The announcement comes at a critical time as the world’s governments seek to finalise a global agreement under the Montreal Protocol to phase down all hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

India estimates this action will prevent nearly half a billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions from entering the atmosphere during the next 15 years.

Alexander von Bismarck, US Executive Director of the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), said: “This shows leadership by India at an important time. It's a big, voluntary step forward, which by itself goes some way to closing the gap the world still faces in order to protect our planet from catastrophic warming. This step also improves chances at the Montreal Protocol this week to agree to a global phase-down of HFCs, which could reduce global warming by 0.5 degrees.”

EIA first exposed the HFC-23 scandal 10 years ago and has carried out investigations into HFC-23 venting in China and India.

HFC-23 destruction projects were the first projects under the Clean Development Mechanism; however, the mitigation is so cost-effective that the projects actually incentivised additional production of HCFC-22 and gaming of the system to increase the amount of HFC-23 that could be destroyed.