Senate Committee Approves Climate Treaty

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Senate Committee Approves Climate Treaty

The pact will phase down the use of HFC coolants.

RONALD BAILEY
5.5.2022

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted with no objections yesterday to send the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol to the full Senate for ratification. This addition to the Montreal Protocol would phase down the production and use of hydrofluorocarbon (HFCs) coolants that are contributing to man-made climate change. ClimateWire accurately described the Kigali Amendment as the "most important climate treaty in years."

First, a little bit of history: Back in 1988, the U.S. Senate gave its advice and consent to ratify the Montreal Protocol on an 83–0 vote.

That international treaty was an agreement to phase out the global production and use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), widely used as coolants in refrigerators and air conditioning. Long-lasting CFCs were wafting into the stratosphere where their chlorine atoms eroded the ozone layer that blocks damaging ultraviolet sunlight from reaching the surface. Since no one owns the atmosphere, pollution problems that occur in this global open-access commons are handled through international negotiations and commitments.

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Source:  https://reason.com/2022/05/05/senate-committee-approves-climate-treaty/