Background 

H.E. KOIZUMI Shinjiro, Minister of the Environment, Japan, announced the launch of the Initiative on Fluorocarbons Life Cycle Management (IFL) at COP25 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Spain, Madrid. Despite of the accomplishment of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, an additional 72 billion t-CO₂eq of fluorocarbons will be released into the air in the next four decades. Given the urgent need to address the effects of climate change comprehensively and the unprecedented increasing demand of fluorocarbons as refrigerants in the cooling sector, it is necessary to address emissions of fluorocarbons throughout their life-cycle, including leakage in the use of and discharge into the air during disposal. Promoting institutionalizing the life cycle management of fluorocarbons will significantly reduce emissions and contribute to mitigating climate change as well as ozone depletion (by HCFCs and CFCs).

The IFL is calling for its potential partners, such as governments, the private sector and international institutions to install sound policies and utilize technologies to control fluorocarbons emissions. This will lead to building relevant infrastructure, spur innovation, create sustainable economic growth and quality jobs. As of November 1^st 2020, 13 countries and international agencies, as well as many private sector organizations have participated in the IFL.

Since the launch of the Initiative, the Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ) and its partner countries and organizations have engaged in discussions for operationalizing the aims into actions through discussions and stakeholder consultations. Now the members have developed a Work Plan Proposal for the IFL for 2021, and are interested in engaging wider participation by their potential partners.