Consultation meeting on revisions to Ozone-depleting Substances Regulations: chapter 3

Presentations and Discussion - Segment III

A. North American Proposal to phase-down HFCs under the Montreal Protocol

Philippe Chemouny (EC) made a presentation on the North American Proposal to phase-down HFCs under the Montreal Protocol (NA Proposal). In his presentation, he provided some background/context on how the NA Proposal came to be, its key elements, and provided an update on the information available on HFC alternatives from the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel, a technical body under the Montreal Protocol. He concluded with Canada’s next steps, at the international and domestic levels.

B. Discussion

A participant noted that 2020 marks the Copenhagen Target for greenhouse gases (17% below 2005 levels) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and wondered why Canada would not need to make real HFC reductions until 2022 under the NA Proposal.

EC clarified that in order to meet the targets under the NA Proposal, it was expected that Canada would need to reduce HFC consumption prior to 2020 as compared to what would be the case under a business-as-usual scenario. In addition, to ensure the achievement of the proposed 2022 reduction target, it is likely that reductions from current levels would need to be made in advance of 2022 in order to meet that reduction step.

Another participant asked about the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC): its mandate, its regulatory impact on Canada and what vehicles were available for participation in it. The participant indicated some frustration that stakeholders had not been consulted sufficiently regarding this new organization.

EC responded that the CCAC is a relatively new and evolving voluntary international initiative, and currently its objective is not to prescribe any obligatory measures to reduce short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs). In the case of HFCs, the CCAC so far has worked to: (1) disseminate information on alternatives through technology conferences and case studies; (2) build information on HFC use and emissions, particularly in developing countries; and (3) begin the preparation of a few demonstration projects. It was mentioned that the CCAC includes not only governments, agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), but also industry representatives. Canadian stakeholders would be more than welcome to apply to join the CCAC and become involved in activities or could also participate as “actors” by participating in specific CCAC initiatives only.

EC provided some additional background information on the CCAC, how it functioned, how projects were brought to the table, reviewed and approved, and how money was allocated to these projects. EC indicated Canada’s recent $10 million contribution to the CCAC Trust Fund and that it is part of Canada’s Fast-Start Financing commitment under the Copenhagen Accord to provide $1.2 billion in new and additional financing to support climate change action in developing countries. The $10 million contribution is in addition to a $3 million contribution announced at the CCAC’s launch in February 2012 and $7 million for projects to reduce SLCPs in developing countries.

Another participant highlighted that Europe and Japan are implementing measures to phase-down HFCs, and wondered why Canada has not taken steps yet. She expressed frustration with Canada’s lack of leadership and a general discontent that Canada was not capitalizing on this opportunity to be a leader on this front. She also expressed disappointment that presently there was only one NGO member of the CCAC and that Canada’s plan to address black carbon was not coherent and should be given a higher priority.