Wednesday, March 27 2019 10:51

ArmInfo. Armenia ratified the amended agreement to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The corresponding decision was taken at the March 27 National Assembly meeting.Introducing the draft document, First  Deputy Minister of Nature Protection Irina Kaplanian emphasized that  the agreement was signed in the capital of Rwanda, Kigali, on October  15, 2016.

 As the Deputy Minister noted, since 1990, Armenia has chosen the  path of maintaining the ozone layer and reducing harmful substances  in the atmosphere. This path is due not only to the alpine character  of the republic, which leads to increased ultraviolet rays, but also  to the global challenges that humanity has faced due to climate  change. In 2010, the republic fully fulfilled its obligations under  the first stage of the program, under which emissions of fluorine and  chlorine hydrocarbons were significantly reduced. At present,  continued Irina Kaplanian, the second phase of the program is  continuing, under which it is envisaged to completely abandon the use  of hydrofluorocarbons. Moreover, the second stage of the program is  carried out at a faster pace.Irina Kapalanyan asserted that the  agreement signed by 197 states of the world in Kigali is the fifth in  a row under the Montreal Protocol. It is envisaged that as a result  of its use in the world, emissions of 105 million tons of harmful  substances will be reduced. It is planned that until 2100 the  temperature of the air in the world will drop by 0.4%.

 For Armenia, which is a developing state, the deadlines for  implementing the provisions of the document are also established: by  2014, the republic should reduce emissions by 10%, by 2035 - by 30%,  by 2040 - by 50% and by 2045 - by 80%.Recall that in the capital of  Rwanda, Kigali, representatives of 197 states that signed the  Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer agreed  to limit the production and emissions of greenhouse gases, in  particular hydrofluorocarbons. Used primarily in refrigeration and  air conditioning, these gases are much more dangerous for the ozone  layer of the earth than the same carbon dioxide. The first in 2019,  the restrictions will be introduced by the USA - the second largest  state in the world in terms of emissions of pollutants into the  atmosphere. From 2024, China will start taking measures leading to  the pollution of the planet. Countries hope they can reduce global  warming by half Celsius.

 The deal, in which the two largest economies of the world - the USA  and China - are involved, divides countries into three groups with  different terms, during which they must reduce the use of  hydrofluorocarbons, the greenhouse effect of which is 10,000 times  stronger than carbon dioxide. As part of the agreement, developed  countries, including a significant part of Europe and the United  States, pledge to gradually reduce the use of hydrofluorocarbons,  starting with a 10 percent decline by 2019, and by 2036, reaching  85%. Two more groups of developed countries will cease to increase  the use of hydrofluorocarbons by 2024 and 2028, and then they will  gradually reduce it. The deal, which has been joined by 197  countries, has crowned a series of measures aimed at combating  climate change. In early October, the Paris Climate Agreement,  concluded in 2015, reached an important threshold for ratification  thanks to the support of India, Canada and the European Parliament.