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USA and China team up to tackle HFCs

Image of Paul Lucas
Author: | Updated: 10 Jun 2013 01:14

The global phasedown of hydroflurocarbons (HFCs) is about to be kicked into another gear as the USA and China announced they will team up to tackle the production and consumption of the pollutant.HFCs

It is hoped that by 2050, the amount of HFCs pumped into the atmosphere could be reduced by 90gigatons. That's the equivalent of two years' worth of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The agreement outlines that the USA and China will work together, and with other countries, while using the expertise and institutions of the Montreal Protocol in an effort to phase down HFC use.

The Montreal Protocol was first introduced in 1987 and is seen as a global approach towards combatting the depletion of the ozone layer: with every country in the world party to the protocol. It has already played a key role in the phasing out of chemicals such as chloroflurocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons.

Now it will attempt to combat HFCs which are traditionally found in industrial applications, refrigerators and from air conditioners: including those used in vehicles. They are seen as highly potent even though they do not reduce the ozone layer; and their use is growing: if left they could account for 20 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

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