Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol
The purpose of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is to phase down the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) worldwide.
In October 2016, New Zealand joined 196 other countries to adopt the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. HFCs are potent greenhouse gases commonly used in air conditioning and refrigeration.
If successfully implemented, the Kigali Amendment is anticipated to avoid up to 0.5 degrees Celsius of global warming by 2100, a significant contribution towards the Paris Agreement’s objective of keeping the global temperature rise “well below” 2 degrees Celsius.
The Kigali Amendment requires Montreal Protocol Parties to gradually phase down HFC production and use. First reductions by most developed countries began in 2019. Most developing countries will follow with a freeze of HFCs consumption levels in 2024, and some in 2028. Developed countries are required to phase down HFC production and use by 85 per cent by 2036, with developing countries achieving this reduction by 2047.
See the Ozone Secretariat website for further information.
New Zealand has completed the domestic processes required to meet the Amendment’s obligations, and will ratify the Amendment on 3 October 2019 so it enters into force on 1 January 2020.
The Environment Select Committee completed International treaty examination of the Kigali Amendment in October 2018. For further information see the National interest analysis prepared by the Ministry for the Environment and the Environment Committee’s Final report [Parliament website].
The Ozone Layer Protection Amendment Regulations 2018, which implement New Zealand’s obligations under the Kigali Amendment domestically, came into force on 18 February 2019. The Regulations put in place a permitting system for imports and exports of HFCs, and prohibit their manufacture.
In 2017, the Ministry for the Environment consulted on New Zealand’s phase down of hydrofluorocarbons, see Hydrofluorocarbons phase-down.
To find out more about New Zealand’s consumption of HFCs see Hydrofluorocarbon consumption in New Zealand.
To find out more about the imports of HFCs into New Zealand, see Calculations from the New Zealand Hydrofluorocarbon Inventory in relation to the Kigali Amendment 2016 to the Montreal Protocol.
For any queries email montreal@mfe.govt.nz.