[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 147 (Wednesday, September 28, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6211-S6212]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               MONTREAL PROTOCOL 28TH MEETING OF PARTIES

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, today I wish to express my support for a 
successful 28th meeting of parties to the 1989 Montreal Protocol on 
substances that deplete the ozone layer, scheduled to take place next 
month in Kigali, Rwanda. The 28th meeting of parties, commonly referred 
to as MOP28, is undertaking the incredibly important task of reaching 
an agreement on an amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase down the 
worldwide production and application of hydrofluorocarbons, HFCs, which 
are incredibly potent, short-lived, greenhouse gases most commonly used 
as refrigerants in air conditioners and for cold storage. Phasing down 
HFCs is a critically important step towards realizing the enhanced 
ambition goals of the Paris Agreement to limit the rise in global 
average temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
  I fully support MOP28's aims of reaching an agreement that is high on 
ambition and expeditious in its timeline. There is no time to lose if 
we, as a global community, are to act successfully to stem the causes 
of the Earth's rapidly changing climate system.
  Prior to the Montreal Protocol's implementation, the Earth's ozone, 
O3, the thin layer of concentrated O3 in our 
atmosphere responsible for regulating the intensity of the Sun's 
penetrating ultraviolet, UV, light, had developed massive holes near 
the Earth's poles and had worn dangerously thin around most of the 
world. A diminished ozone layer poses serious threats to human health 
by proliferating skin diseases from overexposure to UV light, seriously 
harms global crop yields and agricultural production, and hastens the 
useful life of a variety of plastic materials utilized in a variety of 
outdoor applications.
  The Montreal Protocol's incremental approach to phasing out harmful 
ozone depleting substances, ODSs, is a testament to how inclusive and 
transparent approaches to multilateral environmental agreements that 
incorporate constructive inputs from affected industries and the 
scientific community can achieve positive environmental results. 
Starting with the phase out of chlorofluorocarbons, CFCs, the worst-of-
the-worst ozone depleting substances, followed by the phase out of 
hydrochlorofluorocarbons, HCFCs, these agreements have the Earth's 
ozone on track to be fully recovered by 2065.
  Hydrofluorocarbons, HFCs, are the chemical refrigerant alternative 
that replaced HCFCs and CFCs. Unfortunately, HFCs are extreme 
greenhouse gases. Some HFCs are 4,000 times more potent greenhouse 
gases than carbon dioxide. The fairly recent expansion of mass 
production and worldwide use of HFCs, post-HCFC and CFC elimination, 
are believed to have significantly contributed to the recent worsening 
of the global climate crisis.
  While the Montreal Protocol is designed to address ODSs, not climate 
change, the decision was made at the Montreal Protocol's 27th meeting 
of parties in Dubai that the Montreal Protocol provides an effective 
mechanism to address this family of chemicals effectively.
  According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, ``HFC use 
and emissions are rapidly increasing as a result of the phase out of 
ozone-depleting substances (ODS) and growing global demand for air 
conditioning and refrigeration. The continued emissions of HFCs--
primarily as alternatives to ODS and as byproduct emissions of HFC-23--
are having an immediate and significant effect on the Earth's climate 
system. Without further controls, HFC emissions could largely negate 
the climate benefits achieved under the Montreal Protocol.''
  The United States has demonstrated exceptional leadership with 
respect to

[[Page S6212]]

phasing down HFCs on all fronts. U.S. chemical producers and the 
refrigeration manufacturing sector have led the world in developing 
safe, effective, and commercially viable refrigeration chemical 
alternatives, namely hydrofluoroolefin, HFO, and hydrocarbon, HC; 
refrigerants, that neither pose significant threats to the ozone nor 
the climate crisis. In addition to making these technological advances, 
the industry has helped bring countries to the table and fully supports 
adopting an ambitious HFC amendment to the Montreal Protocol in Kigali.
  The U.S. is taking bold domestic political action to promote a 
significant reduction in the use of HFCs in the marketplace by 
promulgating some of the world's most ambitious domestic HFC abatement 
policies. This action provides the U.S.'s delegation to the Montreal 
Protocol with a strong footing to lead by example when it comes to 
advancing an ambitious agreement to phase down HFCs globally as quickly 
as possible.
  The United States and our North American neighbors Mexico and Canada 
have put forward one of the most ambitious HFC amendment proposals for 
consideration at MOP28. Moreover, our amendment has broad support from 
developing and developed countries on every continent. According to the 
State Department, more than 120 parties to the Montreal Protocol have 
expressed support for the policy concepts in the North American 
amendment proposal.
  I want to congratulate the hardworking diplomats, negotiators, and 
policy experts at the U.S. State Department, the Commerce Department, 
and the EPA who have masterfully developed and rallied support for an 
ambitious proposal. While I am confident a deal on a new and effective 
HFC amendment to the Montreal Protocol is within reach, there is 
certainly still some diplomacy necessary with some very important 
parties to the Montreal Protocol, and I encourage our delegation to 
continue working with these parties in Kigali.
  Phasing down the global presence of HFCs is the low-hanging fruit in 
the global effort to combat climate change. If we are going to be 
successful in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, we need to do 
the easy things first. So let's act fast and effectively to get potent 
HFC greenhouse gas reductions as soon as possible. These are 
noncontroversial steps we can take to abate climate change that should 
absolutely have bipartisan support from Congress.
  Thank you.

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