Letter to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, United Nations - Extension of Tenure of Marco Gonzales

Letter

Rep. Henry A. Waxman and Sen. Edward J. Markey sent a letter to United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urging him to extend the tenure of Marco Gonzales as Executive Secretary of the Montreal Protocol through 2015. His leadership is crucial as the parties consider a proposal to phase-down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) under the Protocol. In 2009, the United States, Mexico, and Canada proposed an amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase-down the production and use of HFCs, and the amendment is on the agenda for the Meeting of the Parties this October.

The members write, "An agreement to phase-down HFCs under the Montreal Protocol would send a powerful and concrete signal about the ability of the international community to cooperate to address the enormous challenge of climate change. We appreciate your leadership on climate change and urge you to do everything you can to make the HFC negotiations a success."

The full text of the letter is available below.

August 20, 2013

His Excellency Ban Ki-moon
Secretary-General of the United Nations
United Nations Headquarters
New York, NY 10017

Dear Mr. Secretary-General:

We are writing to urge you to extend the tenure of Marco Gonzales as Executive Secretary of the Montreal Protocol through 2015. His continuing leadership is crucial as the parties begin to consider proposals to phase-down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) under the Protocol.

Climate change is a profound threat to all nations, and our window for preventing irreversible harm is rapidly closing. The upcoming Meeting of the Parties of the Montreal Protocol presents an opportunity to make real progress on climate change this year. An agreement to phase-down the production and use of HFCs under the Protocol would achieve significant climate benefits.

Unlike carbon dioxide, which remains in the atmosphere for hundreds of years, most HFCs have a relatively short lifetime in the atmosphere of a few years to a couple decades. Yet each molecule of these short-lived pollutants warms the atmosphere far more than a molecule of carbon dioxide over the period the molecule remains in the air. In fact, the most common types of HFCs are more than a thousand times as potent as carbon dioxide in warming the planet. Scientists predict that if emissions of HFCs continue to grow, they could be responsible for 20% or more of the global atmospheric warming by 2050.

In 2009, the United States joined Mexico and Canada in proposing an amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase-down the production and use of HFCs. The amendment has not yet been adopted, but each year the North American proposal has gained support. In 2009, 41 nations supported the proposal; in 2011, this number grew to 108 nations.

This year, the United States, Mexico, and Canada have once again placed the HFC proposal on the agenda of the Meeting of the Parties in October. Momentum is building for action to address HFCs. In June, President Xi agreed with President Obama that China would support a phase-down of HFCs under the Montreal Protocol.

Adoption of the proposal would represent a significant victory for the climate. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the HFC phase-down could reduce global emissions by nearly 84 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent through 2050. That is equal to more than two years of total global heat-trapping emissions.

As the Parties begin negotiating an HFC phase-down, continuity in the leadership of the Montreal Protocol Secretariat will be very important. As several key stakeholders recently explained, "Mr. Gonzales has earned the trust of the Parties during his tenure; and his experience, knowledge, and wisdom will help complete the HFC consensus."[1] Retaining Mr. Gonzales through 2015 is consistent with a 2010 decision of the Parties requesting such an extension. Decision XXII/21 should be fully implemented to ensure that Mr. Gonzales is available to provide support for the upcoming discussions.

An agreement to phase-down HFCs under the Montreal Protocol would send a powerful and concrete signal about the ability of the international community to cooperate to address the enormous challenge of climate change. We appreciate your leadership on climate change and urge you to do everything you can to make the HFC negotiations a success.

Sincerely,

Henry A. Waxman
Member
U.S. House of Representatives

Edward J. Markey
Senator
U.S. Senate

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