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The Cabinet, on Wednesday, approved ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the ozone layer for phase down of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). This was adopted by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in October 2016.
The government said that a national strategy for the phase-down of HFCs as per the applicable schedule will be developed after consultation with industry stakeholders by 2023.
Phase-down of HFCs will prevent greenhouse gas emissions as the globe battles with the challenges of climate change. “Amendments to the existing legislation framework, the Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation and Control) Rules, to allow appropriate control of the production and consumption of Hydrofluorocarbons to ensure compliance with the Kigali Amendment, will be done by mid-2024,” the official statement added.
The agreement
Under this agreement, industries that produce and consume HFCs such as the refrigeration and air-conditioning sectors will need to cut down on HFCs and transition to non-HFCs and low global warming potential technologies.
India will complete its phase-down of HFCs in four steps from 2032 onwards with a cumulative reduction of 10 per cent in 2032, 20 per cent in 2037, 30 per cent in 2042 and 80 per cent in 2047.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet was apprised regarding a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India and the GARDP Foundation on Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Innovation, Switzerland. The MoU, which was signed by India in March 2021, will strengthen the relations within the framework of the international scientific and technological collaboration and will promote cooperation in fields of mutual interest, the statement added.
The Cabinet also gave its nod to an MoU for co-operation in the field of geology between the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and the Florida International University (FIU) on behalf of its Department of Earth and Environment, College of Arts, Sciences and Education.
“The MoU will provide an institutional mechanism between Geological Survey of India (GSI) and the Florida International University (FIU) on cooperation in the field of Geology,” the official statement added.
Another MoU inked with the Centre for Trade and Economic Integration (CTEI) within the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva has got the Cabinet nod. This will help in providing academic and research opportunities for employees of the Centre for Trade and Investment Law of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade and the Department of Commerce in the field of international trade and investment law.
The Cabinet was also apprised regarding an MoU inked between India’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Bangladesh’s Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, in the field of Disaster Management, Resilience and Mitigation.
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