Refrigerant news: DEFRA

In its "HFC consumption and emissions forecasting" September 2010 update of the 2008 report, the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) recently shows that while UK HFC emissions are actually higher than had previously been assumed, the indications are that they will fall at a steeper rate "due to technical change, including increased efficiency as older units are replaced by more efficient ones and market penetration of lower/zero-GWP refrigerants such as CO2, hydrocarbons and low-GWP HFCs." Regarding refrigeration - excluding mobile air conditioning - HFC emissions are assessed at 5.69 million tonnes CO2-eq in 2010, 3.01 in 2025 and 1.77 in 2050. In mobile air conditioning, the HFC emissions are 1.86 million tonnes CO2-eq in 2010 and will reach zero by 2029.