Juan Daniel Mayta Soria, PUCP Code 20150783

CHINA DOESN’T CONTROL HFCs (GHG)

EMISSIONS
China has been complying with the Montreal Protocol, but it is not controlling its HFCs
emissions. HFCs are being used as substitutes for CFCs and HCFCs (Ozone Depleting Gases),
but many of them are greenhouse gases.

By: Juan Daniel Mayta Soria, PUCP Code 20150783

The Montreal Protocol,
agreed in 1987, aims to
minimize depletion of the
ozone layer by
eliminating the sources of
ozone-depleting
substances (ODS). China
ratified on it, so it was
obligated to freeze
production of
Chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs) and halons since
1999 to completely phase
them out by 2010. It
started replacing CFCs
by
Hydrochlorofluorocarbons
(HCFC) and other
substances, which have a
smaller ozone-depleting
effect; then,
Hydrofluorocarbons
(HFCs) replaced them.
HFCs doesn’t deplete the
ozone layer, but many of
them are greenhouse
gases.
HFCs emissions in China
are very dependent on
the demand for industries
that used to require CFCs
for their production and
consumption, such as
refrigeration, air
conditioning, foam
blowing and other 10
smaller industry sectors;
the amount of future
HFCs emission are very
uncertain because of it.
China has received
subsidy (1.2 billion of
USD) from the Multilateral
Fund (MLF) of the
Montreal Protocol for
ODS phase-out projects.
For a real assessment of
the progress of it; we
have to analyze its
emission inventory of
ODS and HFCs, and the
impact on the ozone layer
from 1980 to 2014.
China is an industrial
country and has been the
principal the contributor of
ODS by many decades,
form 1980 to 2014.
Because of its growing
economy, its Montreal
Protocol ratifying was a
key factor to phase out
the ozone layer depletion.
In ​figure 1,​ there are the
CFC-11 equivalent
emissions progress,
which is reducing every
year, and the CO2
equivalent emissions, that
are getting bigger
because of no control.
Being aware of that, there
have been two important
answers to mitigate the
HFCs growing emissions
to prevent GHGs keep
increasing in the world:
the “2024 phase down”
scenario and the “2013
North American
Proposal”, a stricter one.
In ​figure 2,​ HFCs future
and projected emissions
are shown.
Finally, it’s important to
keep continuously
monitoring of the ODS
and HFC levels, to
guarantee the progress of
the efforts to mitigate
them. There is evidence
that suggest ODS
emissions are being
emitted again because its
rate of decrease it is
slower than the past
years, as it is shown in
the ​figure 3 (the red line
represents the actual
CFC-11 equivalent
concentration in the
atmosphere, and the blue
line the projected
concentration).
Juan Daniel Mayta Soria, PUCP Code 20150783

Figure 1

Figure 2
Juan Daniel Mayta Soria, PUCP Code 20150783

Figure 3