Reports

Natural refrigerants, an alternative to HFCs, have a low global warming potential, are non-patented and energy efficient. A transition to these alternatives would minimize costs and maximize energy and emissions savings. Can India, leapfrog the chemical treadmill and move to natural refrigerants?

Multinational corporations (MNCs) have kept the world in a chemical treadmill by selling patented refrigerants. They are now introducing a new patented chemical – HFOs. Should Montreal Protocol pay for transitioning to yet another patented chemical to benefit MNCs?

For the past five years, negotiations are taking place under the Montreal Protocol to phase-down HFCs, a super greenhouse gas. Can we arrive at a deal that is equitable, effective and gets the world off the chemical treadmill? This paper proposes a framework to do this.