US Ratifies Kigali Climate Treaty to Slash Super-Pollutants

The US Senate voted Wednesday to join more than 130 nations in pledging to phase out the use of super-polluting greenhouse gases found in refrigerators and air conditioners, a step that is expected to avoid as many greenhouse gas emissions as the entire planet emits every two years.

By a vote of 69 to 27, the Senate ratified the 2016 Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol. Two-thirds of the senators present were required to vote yes for ratification.

US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry called the vote “a profound victory for the climate and the American economy.”

The Montreal treaty was ...