Washington, DC – Foreign Policy for America congratulates President Biden and the bipartisan group of Senators who supported today’s vote to ratify the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. This important treaty update will create good-paying jobs across the country, promote fair competition in international trade, and advance global efforts to address the climate crisis.
When President Reagan first brought the U.S. into the Montreal Protocol in 1988, he called it a “model of cooperation” and a “monumental achievement,” resulting from “an extraordinary process of scientific study, negotiations among representatives of the business and environmental communities, and international diplomacy.” The same could be said about the Kigali Amendment, which provides for the international phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), a class of super-pollutants primarily used in heating, cooling and refrigeration.
While HFCs account for only 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, their warming potential is often thousands of times greater than carbon dioxide. However, with the U.S. at the leading edge of developing and producing more advanced and sustainable HFC alternatives, it’s not just the climate but American businesses and workers that stand to benefit. A 2018 study found that U.S adoption of the Kigali Amendment will create 33,000 additional domestic manufacturing jobs over the next six years and increase annual U.S. manufacturing output by $12.6 billion, all while contributing as much as 0.5 degrees in avoided temperature rise by 2021.
“Today’s vote is a win for American families and the entire international community,” said Andrew Albertson, Foreign Policy for America’s Executive Director. “It demonstrates that strong U.S. leadership and effective diplomacy can expand economic opportunity at home, advance vital trade interests, and take aim at climate change all at the same time. Not only that, it gives us hope that more progress is possible.”
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