HFC Amendment to Montreal Protocol Takes Hit in Egypt

During the recent meeting of the parties to the Montreal Protocol in Egypt last week, fierce opposition from a group of developing countries led primarily by India essentially ended the prospects of a North American proposed amendment to expand the Protocol to include a phasedown of HFCs from being adopted next year. Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. had jointly drafted and proposed the amendment for an international phasedown of HFCs generally in line with the Waxman-Markey phasedown structure in developed countries. All eyes now turn to Copenhagen where the U.N. Conference on Climate Change will be held soon to see whether any agreements are reached and if so, how they might affect HFCs internationally and potentially in domestic legislation.