March 4, 2025

Letter of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia dated 12/19/2024 N 03-14-53/52184 "On the implementation of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol". The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment informs about the measures that need to be implemented in order to fulfill Russia's obligations under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and the Kigali Amendment to it.

In particular, it is reported that it is necessary to phase down the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by switching to the use of natural refrigerants or HFCs with the lowest possible global warming potential. It was noted that there is no need to completely abandon HFCs, it is only necessary to comply with the obligations to phase out their consumption provided for in the Montreal Protocol, ensuring the transition to alternative types of refrigeration equipment where technically possible and applicable. For example, in the retail sector, meat and dairy industries, the fisheries sector, and the fruit crop storage sector.

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are synthetic organic compounds containing fluorine and hydrogen atoms, and are the most common type of organofluorine compounds. Most of them are gases at room temperature and pressure. They are often used in air conditioning and as refrigerants. R-134a (1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane) is one of the most commonly used HFC refrigerants. They may not cause much harm to the ozone layer, but they still contribute to global warming. Some of them, such as trifluoromethane, heat the atmosphere 11,700 times more than carbon dioxide.

In September 2016, the New York Declaration on Forests called for a global reduction in the use of HFCs. On October 15, 2016, due to the contribution of these chemicals to climate change, negotiators from 197 countries gathered at the United Nations Environment Programme summit in Kigali, Rwanda, reached a legally binding agreement (the Kigali Amendment) to phase out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) as part of an amendment to the Montreal Protocol.