Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 8 February 2018

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment

Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol: Motion

2:00 pm

Photo of Hildegarde NaughtonHildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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We have a quorum, with three members present. We will commence the meeting in public session.

I remind members and witnesses to turn off their mobile phones as they interfere with the sound system. No apologies have been received.

Members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the House or an official either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable.

I welcome the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten, here today. The presentation and supporting documents have been circulated to members in advance of the meeting. I invite the Minister to make his opening comments.

Photo of Denis NaughtenDenis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I thank the Chairman for inviting me to the committee today to make a presentation on why Ireland should ratify the Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol. The Government strongly supports the concerted international action needed in order to address the global challenge of climate change. Together, with our EU colleagues, Ireland had to facilitate entry into force of the Paris Agreement of November 2016. The goals of the Paris Agreement are very much in line with Ireland's national policy position on climate change 2014, which set out our vision to transition to a competitive low-carbon, climate resilient and environmentally sustainable economy by 2050.

Ireland also supports international efforts to assist developing countries adapt to climate change. Irish financial support in 2016 amounted to €52.7 million, an increase on €36 million in 2015. The increase is largely due to an improvement in reporting activities across Government bodies and civil society organisations. This resulted in a more complete picture of Ireland's total climate finance contributions. It is our intention to increase the green climate finance fund over time.

The Montreal Protocol entered into force in 1989. It was designed to phase out the production and consumption of ozone depleting substances, which damage the ozone layer. The protocol is viewed as a very successful international intervention. Stratospheric ozone levels are recovering and are expected to reach 1980 levels towards the end of this century.

In the phasing out of ozone depleting substances the protocol has, unfortunately, contributed to the rapid growth of hydrofluorocarbons, HFCs, as replacement gases. Many HFCs while not ozone depleting have a high global warming potential and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

Action on HFCs is vital as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, has estimated that if no action is taken then HFCs might represent between 9% and 19% of overall greenhouse emissions by 2050. The Kigali amendment to the UN response is the UN response to this challenge. It includes specific targets and timetables to replace HFCs with more climate-friendly alternatives thus avoiding up to a 0.5° Celsius increase in global warming.

HFCs are already subject to a phase-down under EU Regulation No. 517 of 2014 on fluorinated greenhouse gases. The regulation is also known as the F-gas Regulation. The regulation will have to be revised at a later stage in order to ensure compliance with the Kigali amendment beyond 2030.

The reduction schedule beyond 2030 is determined on the basis of a review of the EU regulation, which is to start in 2022. The amendment includes a provision to prohibit or restrict countries that have ratified the protocol or its amendments from trading in control substances with states that have not yet ratified the protocol.

The phase-down of HFCs, under the Kigali amendment, will operate on a schedule that gives developed countries, including the EU, earlier targets. For Ireland, as a developed country, the phase-down commitment begins in 2019 with a 10% reduction in the use of HFCs. This level of phase-down should be met within the existing EU phase-down framework of EU Regulation No. 517 of 2014. Reductions will continue on a phased basis until we have an 85% reduction by 2036.

The amendment also provides for assistance through a multilateral fund to developing countries to help them meet their phase-down obligations. Such assistance is already provided to meet pre-existing obligations under the Montreal Protocol.

The main financial commitments, under the Kigali agreement, will commence in 2024. There will be preparatory funding prior to that date with some additional payment obligations arising in 2021. In light of this cost, Dáil Éireann must approve the ratification of the amendment. The Government, even before the ratification of the Kigali amendment, provided fast-track funding. The commitment was made at the back end of 2016 and the money was allocated in 2017 to start the process of implementing the Kigali amendment. At the time the US State Department, which was led by the then Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, publicly acknowledged the leadership role played by Ireland and a handful of countries that were to the fore when implementing the amendment.

There is another aspect to this, which is Kigali cooling. While the Kigali amendment itself will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on global warming by 0.5° Celsius, Kigali cooling, which deals mainly with air conditioning equipment and those types of cooling elements, can provide us with an additional 0.5° Celsius.

There is significant potential to the Kigali amendment and I hope to have this ratified in advance of my visit to Toronto next month. I hope that my colleagues can facilitate in that regard.

The EU and its member states have been to the forefront in the negotiation of the Kigali amendment. The EU has agreed to ratify it in its own right and is awaiting member states' national ratifications. A number of member states have already ratified it. Ratification by Ireland is a clear signal of our commitment to playing our part in tackling global climate change. Together with the EU ratification of the Doha amendment to the Kyoto Protocol, this ratification will send another signal of our intent to take on our global responsibilities and minimise our impact on the global climate.

Photo of Brian StanleyBrian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for that information. This motion was passed by the Dáil on 30 January and the process is that it was to come to us. As a committee, do we have to endorse it?

Photo of Hildegarde NaughtonHildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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We consider the motion and then a message will be sent to the Clerk to the Dáil.

Photo of Brian StanleyBrian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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Is it a requirement that this happens-----

Photo of Hildegarde NaughtonHildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Yes.

Photo of Brian StanleyBrian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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-----or is it just a courtesy that the committee-----

Photo of Denis NaughtenDenis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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Absolutely not. This was approved by the Government in November but, as there is a financial cost involved, it must get the consent of the Oireachtas before I can have it ratified. Technically, it will be ratified by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. It could be debated in the Dáil but the procedure up to now in regard to the Paris Agreement, for example, was to refer it to relevant committee, have the committee deal with the detail and then have it go back to the Dáil for formal approval. That is the mechanism. It also has to go before the Seanad, and I think I will be discussing it there next week. It will then go back to the Dáil. If it is approved by both Houses, we will be in a position to ratify it. I would like to be able to tell my Canadian counterparts, who have been pushing this, that we have ratified it in advance of my visit to Toronto on 8 March to 10 March.

Photo of Brian StanleyBrian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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For us lay people, could one of the officials say where hydrofluorocarbon gases, HFCs, are typically used?

Photo of Denis NaughtenDenis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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Hydrofluorocarbon gases, HFCs, replaced chlorofluorocarbons, CFCs. We all remember the big debate on the ozone layer a number of years ago. I may be corrected on this but my understanding is that HFCs are mainly used in coolants in fridges and in air conditioning systems. When we got rid of CFCs from the backs of our fridges, we replaced them with HFCs. While this does not have an impact on the ozone layer, it has an impact on global warming. We now realise that. Therefore, in the same way that we manage CFCs by extracting them from fridges, the same thing will now be done for HFCs. This is why it is so important to bring them back to a proper recycling facility. The intention is that HFCs will no longer go into new goods and servicing of products.

Photo of Brian StanleyBrian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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Have we found a way of recycling them?

Photo of Denis NaughtenDenis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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There is a mechanism which is the same as that for CFCs. A chemist would have to answer the question though. We can get a note for the Deputy on it. My chemistry does not stretch that far, however.

Photo of Hildegarde NaughtonHildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The officials cannot speak at this meeting and it has to come through the Minister. I call Deputy Lowry.

Photo of Denis NaughtenDenis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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We will come back with a written response.

Photo of Michael LowryMichael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
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I have no problem in supporting the Kigali amendment and facilitating the passage of this motion as quickly as possible. I know a small bit about CFCs because it is my business. This has been successful but it is very expensive. Arrangements are in place for the recycling of HFCs. In terms of the cost of this, is there a ballpark figure? The Minister said it would be double the cost. There will be a public funding charge. Is the Minister saying that it will be double the original figure? What kind of figures are we talking about? What are the cost implications?

Photo of Denis NaughtenDenis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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We spend approximately €780,000 per annum contributing to the international fund and we expect that to double. Those are the types of figures involved. From our perspective and the reason the US State Department is so complimentary of it is that we were one of the first countries to contribute to this. We are a small player in the overall pool but it is not the amount of money but the fact that we contribute bilaterally to these particular funds that is significant. Thanks to the approval of this committee and Dáil Éireann, I was in the position to make bilateral contributions when I was in Bonn at the climate change negotiations. The figures involved are quite small - perhaps €100,000 or €150,000. However, it is significant, first, in that it is an EU member state that is doing it and, second, we are a member state with a huge amount of credibility in terms of development across the globe, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

Photo of Hildegarde NaughtonHildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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That concludes the consideration of the Kigali amendment. I thank the Minister and his officials for attending.