Green Street Scene

Often lost in the debate about efforts to address climate change are a wide range of chemicals, many of which are thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide. These substances include hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and ozone depleting substances (ODS), typically used as refrigerants and foam blowing agents. Studies indicate that the presence of some of these substances in the atmosphere will dramatically increase over the next decades if no action is taken. In fact, HFCs is the fastest growing sector of greenhouse gases. This panel will focus on HFCs and ODS – examining policy instruments that can be used to immediately reduce emissions through containment and eventual phase-out when viable alternatives become available. Panelists will discuss the magnitude of the challenge, as well as immediate actions that can be taken by industrialized and developing nations to jump-start their greenhouse gas emission reductions, and provide a significant and early down-payment on efforts to address climate change.

Chair

Dr. Alan C. Lloyd
President of the International Council on Clean Transportation, United States

Moderator

Durwood Zaelke
President of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development

Speakers

[Speaker] Paul Ashford
Managing Director of Caleb Management Services Limited, United Kingdom

[Speaker] David Doniger
Policy Director of the Climate Center at the Natural Resources Defense Council

[Speaker] Mack McFarland
Global Environmental Manager at DuPont Fluoroproducts

[Speaker] Rajendra M. Shende
Chief of OzonAction at United Nations Environment Programme, France