A majority of the world`s nations meeting in Rwanda agreed on Saturday to a wide-reaching global deal on reducing greenhouse gases which are used in refrigerators and air conditioners.
"The amendment and decisions are adopted," Rwanda`s Minister of Natural Resources Vincent Biruta announced to loud cheers, following overnight talks in the country`s capital Kigali.
The deal on limiting the use of hydroflurocarbons (HFCs) divides countries into three groups with differing deadlines to scale back on the use of the factory-made gas, which can be 10,000 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.
According to the pact, developed nations including the United States - the world`s second worst polluter - and many European countries will gradually reduce their HFC emissions by 2019.
A second group of over 100 developing nations, including China - the world`s top polluter - will start reducing in 2024. A third, smaller group of countries including India, Pakistan and some Gulf states will start later in 2028, after arguing that their economies need more time to grow.
"This is a huge win for the climate. We have taken a major concrete step in delivering on the promises we made in Paris last December," said Miguel Arias Canete, a commissioner with the European Union in a statement ahead of the agreement`s adoption.
"The global phase-down we have agreed today could knock off up to half a degree of warming by the end of the century."
150 nations have reached an agreement to phase out HFC greenhouse gases
15 October 2016
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In an effort to combat climate change, representatives of 150 countries meeting in Rwanda have agreed to limit the use of HFC gases commonly used in refrigeration.
