MOP28

At the Twenty-Eighth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (MOP28),a historic global climate deal was reached in Kigali, Rwanda.It is one of the most significant actions governments have ever taken to protect the climate. HFCs are highly potent greenhouse gases that have a global warming potential 1000’s of times that of carbon dioxide (CO2). Under Kigali Amendment, in all 197 countries, including India have agreed to a timeline to reduce the use of HFCs by roughly 85% of their baselines by 2045. The Kigali Amendment amends the 1987 Montreal Protocol that was designed to close growing ozone hole in by banning ozone-depleting coolants like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Thus, amended Montreal Protocol which was initially conceived only to plug gases that were destroying the ozone layer now includes HFCs responsible for global warming. This move will help to prevent a potential 0.5 degree Celsius rise in global temperature by the end of the century.

BIMSTEC

The BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) countries have expressed commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.Of the seven countries in BIMSTEC, five are part of the SAARC grouping and two are from South East Asia. The BIMSTEC  comprises Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.BIMSTEC countries strongly condemned the recent terror attacks in the region.The states who encourage and support provide sanctuary to terrorists should be identified and held accountable. Strong measures against such states must be taken. They recognised the need for urgent measures to counter and prevent the spread of terrorism, violent extremism and radicalization.