G-20 backs action to curb potent greenhouse gas

Group of 20 nations on Friday vowed fresh efforts to cut the production and use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are potent greenhouse gases used in air conditioning, refrigeration and other applications.

{mosads}Their pledge, part of the joint statement from the summit taking place in Saint Petersburg, Russia, follows a separate announcement by U.S. and Chinese officials about furthering their existing bilateral efforts to help phase down HFCs.

Both agreements envision fresh steps to curb HFCs under the 1987 Montreal Protocol that helped phase out ozone-depleting substances.

E2-Wire wrote about the U.S.-China announcement earlier Friday. The broader joint statement from G-20 nations notes their support for United Nations-hosted talks on a global climate accord, and then gets into HFCs: We also support complementary initiatives, through multilateral approaches that include using the expertise and the institutions of the Montreal Protocol to phase down the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), based on the examination of economically viable and technically feasible alternatives. We will continue to include HFCs within the scope of [the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] and its Kyoto Protocol for accounting and reporting of emissions.

—This post was updated at 12:17 p.m.