International. The executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Achim Steiner, highlighted the decision of China and the United States to cooperate to reduce the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which contribute to the greenhouse effect.
Steiner said the commitment of Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping, announced during their recent meeting, may signal a new chapter in international cooperation on climate change.
UNEP believes that if hydrofluorocarbons continue to be used by industry in the coming decades, it is likely that by 2050 they would have an effect on the environment equivalent to between 3.5 and 8.8 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions.
