The issue of depletion of the ozone layer was discussed for the first time in 1976 in the Executive Council of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). After the Coordinating Committee on Ozone Layer (CCOL) established by UNEP and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to periodically evaluate ozone depletion, experts on the ozone layer came together in a meeting in 1977. The first intergovernmental contacts regarding the reduction of ozone depleting substances (ODS) started in 1981 and this initiative resulted in the ratification of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer in March 1985.
Following the agreement on the convention, studies have been initiated on a protocol that will ensure the control of the use and production of ODSs. As a result of these studies, Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was adopted in September 1987. With the detection of the ozone hole on Antarctica in 1985, parties concluded that strict measures were needed to reduce the production and consumption of many Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and some halons. The Montreal Protocol has been created in such a way that the reduction schedule can be revised based on periodic scientific and technological reviews.
The Montreal Protocol, to which 196 countries are parties, is recognized as the most successful multilateral agreement on the environment. In 1990, the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol (MLF) was established in London with the contributions of developed countries.
Turkey; It became a party to the protocol on 19 December 1991 and accepted all its amendments. Monitoring of national and international studies regarding the protocol is carried out under the coordination of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, which acts as a National Focal Point. Our country is among the most successful countries in the implementation of the Montreal Protocol.
With the works carried out under the Montreal Protocol between 1990 and 2010, the release of 135 billion tons of CO2 equivalent emissions into the atmosphere was prevented.
The protocol has been amended 4 times until the Kigali amendment and our country and 196 party countries have accepted all of these changes. With the termination of ODSs all over the world, Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases, which are widely used as alternatives to ODSs, were added to the substances taken under control in the Montreal Protocol with the Kigali Amendment adopted in 2016 due to their high greenhouse gas effects. In this way, the reduction of these gases with high global warming potential; therefore, an important step has been taken towards combating climate change.
The Kigali Amendment is designed to gradually reduce the production and consumption of 18 Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) class gases with high global warming potential among fluorinated greenhouse gases. The signatory countries were divided into 4 groups and different reduction schedules were arranged for each group. Developing countries of our country are in the 1st group. In this context, our consumption level in 2024 is taken as the base year and we are expected to start reducing our HFC production and consumption by 2024. Among our change obligations is the first reduction of 10% until 2029.
The economical and accessible, low global warming potential and even natural alternatives of these gases, which are mainly used in the air conditioning and cooling sector, have started to be used widely all over the world. Fluorinated greenhouse gas emissions are increasing rapidly all over the world, especially in developing economies, due to the increase in the use of air conditioning and cooling systems. The Kigali Amendment obligations will make a major contribution to achieving the 1.5 degree target of the Paris Agreement. According to the data of the UNEP, reducing the production and consumption of fluorinated greenhouse gases in the foreseen schedule will prevent a 0.5 degree increase in temperature until the end of the century.
The Kigali Amendment entered into force as of January 1, 2019, after it was ratified by 65 countries that are party to the Montreal Protocol. Our country has accepted all the amendments to the Montreal Protocol, to which it is a party in 1991, including the Kigali Amendment, which entered into force after being published in the Official Gazette dated March 11, 2021 and numbered 31420. Our country, which is in the developing countries (A5) category, is among the successful countries in the implementation of the Montreal Protocol.
Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
