ShareHFC emissions data
By using atmospheric measurements, the authors of a recent study published in the PNAS have found that the total CO2-equivalent emissions of the five most common HFCs increased from 198 (175–221) Tg-CO2-eq·y–1 in 2007 to 275 (246–304) Tg-CO2-eq·y–1 in 2012 (+39%).
By using atmospheric measurements, the authors of a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) have found that the total CO2-equivalent emissions of the five most common HFCs from countries that are required to provide detailed, annual reports to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) increased from 198 (175–221) Tg-CO2-eq·y–1 in 2007 to 275 (246–304) Tg-CO2-eq·y–1 in 2012 (+39%).
These GWP-weighted aggregated emissions accurately correspond to those reported to the UNFCCC throughout this period and indicate that the gap between reported emissions and global HFC emissions derived from atmospheric trends is almost entirely due to emissions from non-reporting countries.
However, their measurement-based estimates of individual HFC species suggest that emissions, from reporting countries, of the most abundant HFC, HFC-134a, were only 79% of the UNFCCC inventory total, while other HFC emissions were significantly greater than the reported values. These results suggest inaccuracies in the reporting methods for individual HFCs, which appear to cancel when aggregated together.
The researchers also found the largest increases in emissions of HFC-32 and HFC-125, which – as components of notably R410A and R407C – are increasingly used in air conditioning units. These two HFC emissions have increased by 63% and 44% in developed countries and by 166% and 100% in developing countries over the same period.
M. F. Lunt et al, Reconciling reported and unreported HFC emissions with atmospheric observations, PNAS, May 2015;
http://www.pnas.org/content/112/19/5927.abstract
These GWP-weighted aggregated emissions accurately correspond to those reported to the UNFCCC throughout this period and indicate that the gap between reported emissions and global HFC emissions derived from atmospheric trends is almost entirely due to emissions from non-reporting countries.
However, their measurement-based estimates of individual HFC species suggest that emissions, from reporting countries, of the most abundant HFC, HFC-134a, were only 79% of the UNFCCC inventory total, while other HFC emissions were significantly greater than the reported values. These results suggest inaccuracies in the reporting methods for individual HFCs, which appear to cancel when aggregated together.
The researchers also found the largest increases in emissions of HFC-32 and HFC-125, which – as components of notably R410A and R407C – are increasingly used in air conditioning units. These two HFC emissions have increased by 63% and 44% in developed countries and by 166% and 100% in developing countries over the same period.
M. F. Lunt et al, Reconciling reported and unreported HFC emissions with atmospheric observations, PNAS, May 2015;
http://www.pnas.org/content/112/19/5927.abstract