June 22nd, 2009
From Green Right Now Reports
A new study released today says refrigerant chemicals, also known as F-gases, are a more dangerous threat to global warming than had been previously predicted. The paper, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, projects that HFC (hydrofluorocarbon) emissions will rise rapidly in coming years and decades and may effectively cancel out some of the greenhouse gas reductions made through energy efficiency and clean energy deployment.
Scientists have projected that greenhouse gas emissions need to be capped now and that emissions need to be rapidly reduced by mid century to stabilize the atmosphere and avoid dangerous climate change. Uncontrolled HFC consumption and emissions growth would make attaining those goals more difficult.
The study was authored by scientists from the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, United States government agencies NOAA and EPA, along with a scientist from the chemical company Dupont.
“We must aggressively phase out HFCs to effectively combat climate change. This new science confirms Greenpeace’s longstanding warning of the significant global warming threat posed by these super greenhouse gases,” Kert Davies, Greenpeace’s U.S. research director, said in a statement. “The Obama administration should use every means necessary to prevent the emissions of F-gases so that efforts to clean up the energy sector aren’t undermined. There are simple, market-ready solutions waiting to be deployed provided adequate incentives are provided.”
To phase out HFCs, current bans and phase outs underway in Europe and elsewhere must be expanded upon to include all developed and developing countries quickly, Green Peace officials said. The organization also said the new science highlights the need for greater effort between the UN climate treaty (Kyoto Protocol, upcoming Copenhagen talks) and the UN ozone layer treaty (Montreal Protocol).
HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons) and similar gases are used in refrigerators and air conditioning units in buildings and homes, cars, trucks, and trains. The gases are also used as foam blowing agents. The new PNAS study attributes the growth in HFC consumption to the rapid growth of Asian markets for refrigeration, automobile air-conditioning, and commercial air conditioning and refrigeration, along with the accelerated phase out of HCFC (ozone-depleting refrigerants) under the Montreal Protocol and subsequent replacement of those chemicals with HFCs.
