#MoveTheDate
6
Days
Based on scenarios calculated by Project Drawdown, managing the use and disposal of fluorinated gases, the principal refrigerant used in refrigerators and air conditioners, would move Earth Overshoot Day 6 days by 2050.
What is the solution?
Preventing refrigerant leaks throughout the lifetime of the appliance: assembly, during use, and especially during disposal (90% of refrigerant emissions occur at this stage). Implementing proper maintenance and disposal techniques for appliances that require refrigerants. Transitioning to more ecologically-sensitive refrigerants.
This solution improves our resource security in the energy category.
How does it #MoveTheDate?
Fluorinated gases such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) or chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are potent greenhouse gases with the warming potential several thousands of times stronger than carbon dioxide. Refrigerants, which include HCFCs (the precursors to HFCs), HFCs, and CFCs, account for approximately 10% of climate warming.
How is it scalable?
The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol is an international agreement to reduce the consumption of HFCs. Although there are 121 signatories including the European Union on the Amendment to phase out HFCs, this process will take time to implement.
What is the solution?
Preventing refrigerant leaks throughout the lifetime of the appliance: assembly, during use, and especially during disposal (90% of refrigerant emissions occur at this stage). Implementing proper maintenance and disposal techniques for appliances that require refrigerants. Transitioning to more ecologically-sensitive refrigerants.
This solution improves our resource security in the energy category.
How does it #MoveTheDate?
Fluorinated gases such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) or chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are potent greenhouse gases with the warming potential several thousands of times stronger than carbon dioxide. Refrigerants, which include HCFCs (the precursors to HFCs), HFCs, and CFCs, account for approximately 10% of climate warming.
How is it scalable?
The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol is an international agreement to reduce the consumption of HFCs. Although there are 121 signatories including the European Union on the Amendment to phase out HFCs, this process will take time to implement.
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, (or Montreal Protocol) is an international treaty enacted in 1989 in response to threats to Earth’s ozone layer. As treaties go, it has been incredibly successful and had positive, unintended environmental effects. These ozone depleting substances, many of which are coolants, are also potent greenhouse gases. The reduction in their use has helped to slow the increase in the atmosphere’s greenhouse gas concentration. In fact, it may well be the case that the Montreal Protocol achieved a larger reduction in potential emissions than the Kyoto Protocol, which was specifically designed to reduce climate-relevant emissions.
There have been several revisions to reflect changing technologies and advances in the implementation of the protocol. The latest revision was agreed upon in Kigali, Rwanda. The Kigali Amendment focuses on gradually reducing the consumption and production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which were introduced in the early part of the Montreal Protocol due to their ozone layer friendliness, while ignoring their GHG potential.
As of August 21, 2021, 121 states and the European Union have ratified the Kigali Amendment. In their April 2021 meeting, China and the US pledged to ratify the amendment. China did so in June 2021; the US Senate has yet to to pass the bill put forward by the Biden administration.
Calculations for this solution are based on work done by our friends at Project Drawdown. You can get more information about this solution and their calculation methodology here.
There’s no benefit in waiting!
Acting now puts you at a strategic advantage in a world increasingly defined by ecological overshoot. Countless solutions exist that #MoveTheDate. They’re creative, economically viable, and ready to deploy at scale. With them, we can make ourselves more resilient and #MoveTheDate of Earth Overshoot Day. If we move the date 6 days each year, humanity can be out of overshoot before 2050.