Fund against harmful gases receives $695 million at Kigali meeting
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on The New Times (Rwanda)
At the 38th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, held in Kigali on 7 November, parties agreed to replenish the Multilateral Fund with $695 million for 2027-2029. This funding is intended to help developing countries gradually phase down hydrofluorocarbons, according to the UN Ozone Secretariat.
Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer agreed, on Saturday 7 November in Kigali, to replenish the Multilateral Fund with $695 million for the 2027-2029 period, according to the Ozone Secretariat of the Montreal Protocol. The fund, established in 1990, finances the phase-out of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), harmful refrigerant gases used notably in refrigerators and air conditioners.
Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), says the fund has approved 91 first implementation plans for the Kigali Amendment. According to her, these investments avoid more than 78 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions.
Ms Maruma Mrema adds that the fund has also helped 127 developing countries collect, transport and manage used or unused controlled substances in an environmentally sound way.
