Regulation of CFCs
Do you remember the hole in the ozone layer? That we don’t hear so much about this anymore is due, in part, to Dr. Mario Molina who received the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his ground-breaking work on how CFC gases affect the ozone layer. Emissions were subsequently regulated by means of the Montreal-protokollen which, unlike the Kyoto protocol, is a text-book example of how the world community can get together to save the environment. The ozone layer can probably be declared fully healthy during the course of this century.
A group of researchers, with Molina in the lead, is now suggesting that we use the same Montreal protocol to regulate the emissions of HFC gases, or Hydro Fluoro Carbons. In addition to the more familiar CO2, methane and laughing gas, there are several other gases emitted by human activity that are disrupting the global climate. One group of them is HFC gases, which were developed to replace ozone gases, especially in air-conditioners. The replacement benefited the ozone layer, but it was later realised that HFCs are very aggressive greenhouse gases. Since air-conditioners have become more and more common, both in industrialised and developing countries, the use of HFCs is expected to rise considerably over the coming years. If nothing is done to avoid it, emissions could increase to as much as 135 giga-tonnnes of CO2-equivalents by 2050. This is three times as much as today’s total emissions of greenhouse gases! If HFC gases are phased out through the Montreal protocol, other, already existing climate-friendly technologies can take over.
