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The phase-out under the Montreal protocol is an ongoing process, but we are far from there. The HFCs that replaced (H)CFCs in the 90s quickly turned out to be f
by moritz 3y ago
The phase-out under the Montreal protocol is an ongoing process, but we are far from there. The HFCs that replaced (H)CFCs in the 90s quickly turned out to be fastes growing category of short-term climate pollutants in many countries in the world [1]. The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal protocol from 2019 now covers HFCs too, and the EU limits them since 2015, but these things take time…
R-410A, commonly used in Europe, has a GWP of 2088. Worldwide, R-22 still is the most common refrigerant. That’s a HCFC, so stratospheric ozone depleting, and with a GWP of 1960.
[1]: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1216414 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1216414
- stephen_g 3y agoR-410A is being phased out in major markets including the US too over the next few years (R-22 has been banned for new equipment most places for more than a decade, and is banned entirely in the EU since 2015 for recharging existing units). My Mitsubishi air to air heat pumps (one from 2015 and one from 2018) were already R-32 (GWP 675, Ozone depletion potential 0) and my air to water (Sanden, installed 2022) is R-744 (which is CO2 - obviously GWP 1)
- tonfa 3y agoThanks both for the pointers (it's easier to google if you know what to search for). https://climate.ec.europa.eu/eu-action/fluorinated-greenhouse-gases/climate-friendly-alternatives-hfcs_en https://climate.ec.europa.eu/eu-action/fluorinated-greenhous... is the list of alternatives with corresponding GWP for EU.
- moritz 3y agoIn so-called developing countries, the full ban of R-22 will be 2030, which is a full ban with an asterisk to 2040. Not saying the phase-out isn’t happening, but there are, and there will be for quite some time, millions of units leaking climate pollutants (which was the question).