Kigali, 12 October 2016
President Kagame has pointed out that the world has a great opportunity to mitigate the effects of climate change on the environment and people, and urged everyone to not only ensure this gets done, but done thoroughly well.
While opening the 28th Meeting of the Parties to the Montréal Protocol today at the Kigali Convention Center, President Kagame observed that as a result of the Montreal Protocol, progress has been registered in the healing of the Ozone Layer.
“We should not allow ourselves be satisfied with making a little bit of good progress when it is within our power to actually solve the problem. We have gone beyond challenging the science of climate change to testing and perfecting the technology for mitigating it, without compromising economic and social progress. President Kagame: We should not allow ourselves to be satisfied with good progress, when it is within our power to actually solve the problem”
President Kagame warned that failure to act fast would result in huge financial costs and a heavy burden on the next generation.
“The responsibility to act lies not only with governments, but also with scientists and the private sector. Our job is to provide them the proper incentives and support to do their work. That begins with a clear signal that change is coming and it is coming soon. In due course, new innovations and products will allow us to phase out HFCs even faster, and at lower cost. At the same time, we must remember that there are still vast gains to be made in the efficiency of appliances.”
Appealing to the world to take action urgently, President Kagame reminded that taking decisive action in Kigali would inject new energy into the Paris Agreement, increasing confidence that the international community was able to effectively address not only climate change, but many other urgent matters as well.
“The key is to work in a spirit of multilateral cooperation and mutual respect. We need more signs of this in our world today. It never hurts to think big. Let’s come together, find good solutions to any remaining issues, and make history; again, making history together.”
The 28th Meeting of the Parties (MOP 28) to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer which kicked off on October 8 in Kigali, is scheduled to consider, negotiations on a hydro Fluorocarbons (HFC) amendment, nominations for critical-use and essential-use exemptions, and other draft decisions forwarded from the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG). The meeting was preceded by the resumed OEWG-38 session, which took place on 8 October.