TRADING BETWEEN CO2 AND HFCS OR METHANE EMISSIONS REDUCTION STRATEGIES SHOULD BE DISCOURAGED

Having considered emission reduction strategies for CO₂ and compared them with strategies for SLCP (note 1) a recent scientific paperconcludes that the strategies should be pursued in parallel to mitigate future global temperature increase.

While HFCs or CH₄ reductions have an immediate impact on the climate, this will happen for only a short time since they have a low atmospheric lifetime. These strategies can slow the temperature increase, but only in the next decades.

The only way to permanently slow the rate of warming is by reducing CO₂ emissions, taking into account of the very long atmospheric lifetime of CO₂ and its long-term warming impact; more than 20 % will remain for thousands of years in the atmosphere.

EFCTC supports proposed regulation

With the incoming EU F-Gas Regulation Review, and a future decision to regulate HFCs under the Montreal Protocol, some of the SLCP emissions will be reduced. However, importantly, the other aspect of climate mitigation, reducing CO₂ emissions in parallel, must not be compromised by reducing the energy efficiency of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration equipment (see note 2).

Note 1 : Short-lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs) are substances such as black carbon, tropospheric ozone, methane and some hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which have a relatively short lifespan in the atmosphere compared to carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other longer-lived greenhouse gases (GHGs).
Note 2.: Energy-related CO₂ emissions account for over 90% of the climate impact of typical air conditioning and refrigeration equipment.