According to the White House, President Obama and Chinese President Xi have agreed on working together and with other countries to use the expertise and institutions of the Montreal Protocol to phase down the consumption and production of HFCs.   The statement said phasing down HFCs globally has the potential to “reduce some 90 gigatons of CO2 equivalent by 2050, equal to roughly two years worth of current global greenhouse gas emissions.”

It is significant to note the new willingness of China to negotiate coverage of HFCs under the Montreal Protocol. The breakthrough on this came with the establishment of the US-China bilateral working group on climate, which was initiated by Secretary of State John Kerry.  This working group covers a broad range of issues relating to greenhouse gas emissions.  The HFC issue was one of the most contentious because of the potential implications for developing country action on greenhouse gases since it was a break from the “common but differentiated responsibilities” requirements of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Current expectation is that reaching an agreement under the Montreal Protocol may still take considerable time. While there is a way to go on this issue, this is probably the most important development since the development of the Trilateral Proposal.