Source: World Wildlife Fund
Today, the United States Senate ratified the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which is a global agreement struck in 2016 in Rwanda’s capital city setting targets for every nation to phase down the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). These chemicals, used in refrigerators and air conditioners, are powerful climate-pollutants, and phasing out their use under the Kigali Amendment will avoid up to 0.5 degrees Celsius of warming by the end of this century. In addition to the environmental benefits, the trade boost created by ratifying this treaty will create and sustain over 180,000 jobs. In response, WWF Senior Vice President for Climate, Marcene Mitchell, released the following statement:
“Ratifying the Kigali Amendment is a win for nature and a win for the economy. Implementing its provisions will help us limit the worst impacts of the climate crisis while creating thousands of new American jobs. With today’s vote, the Senate has given us greater hope of meeting our global goal of limiting climate change to 1.5 degrees and demonstrated that bipartisanship is still possible when it comes to addressing climate change.
“With broad support from the Administration, the private sector and the public, ratification of the Kigali Amendment sends another clear message to the world ahead of COP27 that the United States is all in to address the climate crisis.”
