Benefits of greenhouse gas pact may fall short of high hopes

Tuesday, 18 October 2016 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: A pact by almost 200 nations to slash greenhouse gases used in refrigerators and air conditioners will likely fall short of 08-04 governments’ hopes of averting a full half-degree Celsius (0.9 Fahrenheit) of warming this century, scientists say.

Saturday’s agreement in Kigali, Rwanda, is the biggest single step to limit climate change since governments reached a global agreement in Paris last year to shift the world economy from fossil fuels this century.

Amid celebrations of the legally binding Kigali pact to phase down use of factory-made hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), many governments and environmentalists said it could avert 0.5C of warming this century, citing a 2013 scientific study.

But some leading researchers expect it will be less.