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s the consequence of a global agreement to end the use of powerful planet-warming substances in air-conditioners and refrigerators, Indonesia has committed to phasing out the chemicals, a tough choice for a tropical country soaked in sunshine year-round.

After earlier hesitance, Indonesia finally made the commitment to join nearly 200 other nations to support the movement during a conference in Kigali, Rwanda, last Saturday.

The government has laid out a plan to stop acquiring new products containing hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by 2024. By 2050, Indonesia expects to totally phase out HFCs.

More than 100 developing countries, including China, the world’s top carbon emitter, will also start taking action by 2024, when HFC consumption levels are expected to peak.

“We’re asking for 2025 but according to global calculations, we have to start in 2024,” said Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar.

In a previous global meeting on the phasing out of HFCs held in Vienna, Austria, in July, the ministry expressed its concern over the plan, especially the implication on industries that use HFCs for production.

“The availability of alternatives to HFCs needs to be considered,” the ministry said at the time.

It also expressed concerns about the availability of technology that had been tested in the local market.

Despite the initial concerns and reluctance, Siti said the government had now wholeheartedly embraced the commitment and would immediately start preparing for the phasing out of HFCs. HFCs are described as the world’s fastest-growing climate pollutant with 1,000 times the heat-trapping potency of carbon dioxide.

“They’re one of the main drivers of climate change as HFCs have much bigger global warming potential than CO2,” Greenpeace Indonesia climate change leader Hindun Mulaika told The Jakarta Post.

By phasing out HFCs, the world could avoid the equivalent of 100 billion tons of CO2, which translates into preventing about 0.5 degrees Celsius of global warming by 2050, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

While they are less plentiful than carbon dioxide, HFCs currently emit as much pollution as 300 coal-fired power plants each year.

That amount could rise significantly over the coming decades as air-conditioners and fridges reach hundreds of millions of new people.

In Indonesia alone, the number of domestic fridges is expected to reach 54 million units by 2020.

The use of HFCs in Indonesia has grown significantly over the past two decades as the chemicals are an alternative to ozone depleting substances banned under the Montreal Protocol — chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs).

The consumption of HFCs is currently unregulated in Indonesia so there are no restrictions, quotas or other rules for the chemicals, which are all imported. There is no HFC production in the country.

Indonesia mainly imports HFCs from China (73 percent), Europe (13 percent) and India (11 percent).

The total potential direct emissions of HFCs in the country could reach 24,683 kilotons of CO2 in 2020. This is expected to increase sharply to 1,688,448 kilotons of CO2 by 2050.

As consumption is predicted to rise exponentially, Hindun urged the government not to wait until 2024 to start phasing out HFCs.

“Why wait for 2024? There are natural refrigerants that have been developed and thus there’s no need to use chemicals [like HFCs] anymore,” she said.

Natural refrigerants are naturally occurring, non-synthetic coolants in fridges and air conditioners, including hydrocarbons (propane, butane and cyclopentane), CO2, ammonia, water and air.