US Senate votes to ratify the Kigali Amendment

On 21st September, the U.S. Senate agreed to the ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The historic 69 to 27 vote will allow the United States to join the 137 parties that have already ratified the Kigali Amendment. This amendment commits countries to reducing the production and consumption of HFCs by more than 80% over the next 30 years.

 

According to an official US government release, industry estimates indicate that U.S. ratification will support 33,000 new U.S. manufacturing jobs and generate 12.5 billion USD in new investments in the U.S. economy over the next decade. ^[1] Prior to this vote, the United States took other actions to phase down HFC production and consumption. In 2020, Congress passed the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, which similarly seeks to confront climate change by reducing HFC production and consumption by 85%, following the same timetable as the Kigali Amendment. ^[2]

 

The list of countries that have ratified the Kigali Amendment is available on the United Nations website.

 

For more information on the Kigali Amendment, the IIR has produced a summary available on FRIDOC.

 

 

Sources 

[1] U.S. Department of State. Press release U.S. Ratification of the Kigali Amendment. (September 21, 2022) https://www.state.gov/u-s-ratification-of-the-kigali-amendment/ 

[2] https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=c0f058a1-19d3-42a7-abb7-52468df9a8d0