Joint media release: Australia to assist regional partners with Montreal Protocol

The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, Minister for the Environment and Water
The Hon Pat Conroy MP, Minister for International Development and the Pacific

The Australian Government will offer support to countries in our region to phase down the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), as required under the Montreal Protocol. 

This week, the Government will introduce a new Bill, the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Reform (Closing the Hole in the Ozone Layer) Bill 2022 which will modernise and streamline Australia’s laws to manage ozone depleting substances and synthetic greenhouse gases.

The control and phase-out of ozone gases stems from the highly successful Montreal Protocol – the most successful global environment treaty ever signed. To date, the Protocol is the only UN treaty ratified by every UN member state; in Australia it was ratified by the Hawke Government in 1989.

Under the Montreal Protocol countries phase down the consumption and production of the different ozone depleting substances in a step-wise manner, with different timetables for developed and developing countries (referred to as “Article 5 countries”).

Australia is committed to assisting our neighbours in the Pacific to phase-out these ozone depleting gases. 

The Government will work with Australian industry representatives to share information with neighbouring countries on our legislation, licensing and quota systems, offering technician training and training material, and providing information about managing the transition to newer gases and equipment to reduce emissions. 

These projects and initiatives will be funded from the Multilateral Fund for the implementation of the Montreal Protocol, which Australia contributes to through our Official Development Assistance. 

The additional support announced today builds upon Australia’s existing work with twelve Pacific island countries under the Montreal Protocol to phase-out ozone depleting substances (particularly hydrochlorofluorocarbons or HCFCs): Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Samoa and the Cook Islands.

Quotes attributable to Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek:

“Hydroflurocarbons are thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide. They are potent greenhouse gases which damage our climate.

“Collective action under the Montreal Protocol will phase these down by 85% by the middle of this century. That’s the equivalent of preventing an estimated 72 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

“This is a significant opportunity to not only help our neighbours to better manage their environments, but also to increase the engagement of Australian businesses in our region and to share Australian expertise.”

Quotes attributable to Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy:

“The Albanese Government is proud to be working with the Pacific family to respond to this important environmental challenge for all of us.

“This is another example of the Albanese Government taking climate change seriously and working with our Pacific partners to address it.”