New Zealand implements further rules to help cool planet
The Environmental Protection Authority says it's leading New Zealand’s implementation of the Kigali Amendment, an international agreement to reduce the levels of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) gases in the Earth’s atmosphere.
A new permitting scheme to protect New Zealand and New Zealanders from climate change will be introduced in February 2019 and will apply to all bulk imports and exports of HFC gases, which are used in refrigeration units and air-conditioning units.
Dr. Fiona Thomson-Carter, General Manager of our Hazardous Substances group said: “Science has shown that HFC gases are potent greenhouse gases, which means they capture heat from the sun and release it into the Earth's atmosphere.
“These HFC gases have a high global warming potential (GWP), which can be as much as 50 to 14,800 times more than carbon dioxide.
The Kigali Amendment builds upon the 1987 Montreal Protocol, which has been instrumental in repairing ozone layer damage caused by ozone-depleting gases during the 1980s.