Global Deal Reached To Phase Out Super Greenhouse Gases

KIGALI, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Oct, 2016 ) : In a major step toward curbing global warming, the world community agreed on Saturday to phase out a category of dangerous greenhouse gases widely used in refrigerators and air conditioners.

Nearly 200 countries agreed to end production and consumption of so-called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) under an amendment to the 1987 Montreal Protocol on protecting the ozone layer. HFCs stoke climate change because they are super-efficient at trapping heat in Earth's atmosphere.

By scrapping these substances, say experts, a massive step could be made towards achieving the UN's goal to roll back global warming. The agreement was greeted by applause from exhausted envoys who worked through the night in Rwanda's capital Kigali to put the finishing touches on the deal.

"Last year in Paris, we promised to keep the world safe from the worst effects of climate change.

Today, we are following through on that promise," UN Environment Programme chief Erik Solheim declared.

- Deal hailed - =============== US President Barack Obama said in a White House statement that the agreement was "an ambitious and far-reaching solution to (the) looming crisis" of climate change.

It adds powerfully to the 2015 Paris Agreement, due to take effect next month after crossing the threshold for ratification by signatory countries, Obama said. "Together, these steps show that, while diplomacy is never easy, we can work together to leave our children a planet that is safer, more prosperous, more secure, and more free than the one that was left for us." Among green groups, WWF said the deal was "great news for the