UN General Assembly
2014

Nations Environment Programme has identified a pre- 2020 emissions gap. Therefore, AOSIS has also made an important proposal to the work plan on enhancing mitigation ambitions in order to close the gap. Micronesia has made an equally important proposal to amend the Montreal Protocol to phase down the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are powerful greenhouse gases. That action can reduce the global average temperature increase by up to 0.5°C by the end of this century. Reducing HFCs and other short-lived climate pollutants can reduce the rate of sea-level rise by 25 per cent. Near-term climate mitigation will give all atolls around the globe a chance to survive. The Montreal Protocol’s success and enormous potential to protect the climate was recognized in The Economist this week. The magazine has a separate editorial entitled “Paris via Montreal: The quickest way to cut greenhouse gases is to expand the Montreal Protocol”. Indeed, the success of the Montreal Protocol in the next six months is our ticket to a successful outcome in Paris at COP 21. I commend the United