Breakthrough Towards India Joining Montreal Protocol Amendment Came During Cong Govt: Jairam Ramesh

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday raised the issue of climate change and said it took much effort for India to come onboard the 2016 amendments made to the Montreal Protocol, asserting that a breakthrough came during the Manmohan Singh government.

Taking to X, the former environment minister said while the world is rightly worried by the impacts of pollution, loss of biodiversity and climate change "one piece of good news on the environment brings some cheer". "It looks as if the ozone layer which protects the earth from harmful ultraviolet rays will be restored to its 1980 levels by 2040 over most of the world," said Ramesh.

"The reason for this is the Montreal Protocol to reduce consumption and production of hydrofluorocarbons that came into effect in 1989 and to which crucial amendments were made in October 2016," he said. "I recall how much it took for India to come on board to these amendments. The first breakthrough was in the September 27, 2013 joint statement of President Obama and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh," he said.

"There was immediate criticism of the change in India's stance by those in power today. But the joint statement of President Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually repeated the Obama-Singh agreement!" he said. The Parties to the Montreal Protocol reached an agreement at their 28th Meeting of the Parties on 15 October 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda to phase down HFCs. Countries agreed to add HFCs to the list of controlled substances and approved a timeline for their gradual reduction by 80-85 per cent by the late 2040s.

In September 2013, then prime minister Manmohan Singh and then US president Barack Obama in a joint statement during Singh's visit to the US, had announced formation of a joint working group to enhance bilateral cooperation on addressing global issue of climate change.