US President Joe Biden says he has signed the Kigali Amendment Protocol, aimed to protect the ozone layer and accelerate actions to mitigate climate change. Biden described the signing as a historic ‘bipartisan’ win for American manufacturing and global climate action. “My administration is phasing down supper-polluting chemicals so that the U.S can lead the clean technology markets of the future and unlock thousands of new jobs,” he said in a tweet. The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol is an international agreement that compels countries to limit use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), highly potent greenhouse gases commonly used in refrigerators and air conditioning that are supposedly more powerful than carbon dioxide. The measure requires participating nations to phase down production and use of HFCs, by 85 per cent over the next 14 years, as part of a global initiative intended to slow climate change. The substance's phase-down is expected to prevent the emission of up to 105 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent of greenhouse gases, helping to avoid up to 0.4°C of global temperature rise , while continuing to protect the ozone layer. The climate deal was signed in 2016 in Kigali. Environmental groups, government leaders and industry players have largely supported the vice, citing the development as a critical way to combat climate change and advance more sustainable technologies. The US joins more than 130 countries that have so far ratified the agreement. For the US, the formal ratification of the Kigali agreement — with Biden's signature — “means the U.S. is all-in on reducing HFCs” and advancing global efforts to combat climate change, White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi told the media. The agreement should lead to tens of thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars in exports as clean technologies are developed to replace HFCs around the world, Zaidi added. Biden’s endorsement also comes off the heels of a major climate summit, COP 27, that is slated for next month in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, during which global leaders discuss ways to prevent the climate crisis. COP27 is the first COP to be held in Africa after adopting the Paris agreement in 2015. Rwanda has already highlighted some of her priorities at the summit, among which is pushing for a fund that could compensate developing countries for ‘loss and damage’ caused by climate change.
