Cabinet nod to phase down hydrofluorocarbon imports

The Cabinet has approved a plan to gradually reduce the hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) imports, through an annual import quota system starting this year. 
This move aligns with the country’s obligations under the Kigali Amendment of the Montreal Protocol.
HFCs are a group of synthetic gases primarily used for cooling and refrigeration. Many HFCs are very powerful, short-lived climate pollutants, with an average atmospheric lifetime of 15 years. Though HFCs currently represent around 2 percent of total greenhouse gases, their impact on global warming can be hundreds to thousands of times greater than that of carbon dioxide per unit of mass.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as the Environment Minister, sought the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers to meet the legal obligation related to the Kigali Amendment of the Montreal Alliance, by limiting the importation and consumption of pure HFC and products containing HFC to Sri Lanka, on a phased basis.
Sri Lanka ratified the Kigali Amendment of the Montreal Protocol on the phase down of HFC, in 2018. Accordingly, Sri Lanka is legally bound to restrict the import, export, trade and consumption of HFC, on a phased basis, from the beginning of this year. 

Under the Montreal Protocol, the average total quantity of HFC-based refrigerants imported to Sri Lanka during the 2020 to 2022 period is to be considered as a baseline for the HFC quota given to Sri Lanka.  “The importers will be allowed to import refrigerants of the HFC series beyond 2024 in proportion to the quantity of refrigerants belonging to the HFC series imported in the years 2020, 2021 and 2022 and accordingly, those HFC importers will only be entitled to a quota for HFC imports,” the Environment Ministry stated in a notice.  The Government Information Department said that the import quota system would ensure no adverse effects on the HFC consuming sectors such as agriculture, fishing, health, tourism, transport, industry, housing and construction. (NF)