By Rajarshi Datta
With efforts being made globally to preserve ozone layer, the primary question remains unanswered: “How can we succinctly respond to address global warming and its impact on climate change?” A number of factors are causing climate change and the efforts to address them have been manifold. Large-scale use of environmentally damaging refrigerants is one of the key areas identified, with a direct impact on the depletion of the ozone layer and subsequently on global warming.
India was part of a historic global climate deal that was reached in Kigali, Rwanda, at the 28th Meeting of the Parties (MoP28) to the Montreal Protocol, on substances that deplete the ozone layer. The Kigali Amendment, an amendment to the 1987 Montreal Protocol, aims to phase out high-global-warming-potential hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a family of potent greenhouse gases (GHG), by late 2040s. Under this amendment, 197 countries, including India, agreed to a timeline to reduce the use of HFCs by 80-85% of their baselines over the next several decades.
HFCs have many everyday applications. These include refrigerants to cool cars, appliances and buildings, foam-blowing agents that create cushioning and insulating foam, solvents used in manufacturing to clean and sanitise, and certain specialty propellants used in products like aerosols. When HFCs are released into the atmosphere, they trap GHGs with significant global-warming-potential (GWP) and take years, sometimes decades, to break down in the atmosphere—thus contributing to the overall warming of the planet. HFCs have high a GWP. For example, HFC-134a, the commonly used automobile refrigerant, has a GWP of 1,300, which means its impact on global warming is 1,300 times that of carbon dioxide (CO2). Replacing high GWP HFCs with low-GWP HFO alternatives could help avoid up to 0.5°C of warming by the end of this century.
This background triggers an opportunity, as well as a set of challenges for the industry at large to develop new technologies and transition to the use of more environmentally preferable alternatives. There has been a continuous effort globally to cut down the use of high-GWP HFCs ever since we decided to shift from chlorofluorocarbons to HFOs. Thus, the journey to explore alternatives continues, to meet the diverse requirements of industry.
Addressing the implications for India
India is the world’s fourth-largest emitter of CO2. According to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the share of space cooling in peak electricity load is projected to rise sharply in India, from 10% today to 45% in 2050. Given the estimations of India’s rapid economic growth, the government has recognised the importance of lowering the country’s GHG emissions as part of an international effort to limit global warming. Along with the NITI Aayog, the government is working towards an India Cooling Action Plan, meant to meet the country’s growing cooling needs in a climate-friendly manner. One of the key focus areas in the Action Plan is in-room air conditioners (ACs). The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) estimates that if by 2030, India’s AC stock improves in average efficiency by 30% from 2015 levels, annual CO2 emissions will decrease by approximately 80 million metric tonnes per year.
The Kigali Amendment is a significant opportunity for us to live up to the promise of better environment. Successful implementation of the amendment will require a high level of national cooperation from our government, along with industry, research institutes and regulators coming together in sustaining efforts. While daunting in several ways, the positive prospect of technology cost reductions, a cleaner and healthier environment, along with improvements in quality of life, can all support a world of increasing action on climate change. India has been a key partner in the quest for reducing emissions and should continue to take the lead in efforts to protect the planet from climate change.
The author is country head & GM, South Asia, Honeywell Advanced Materials