Five years after EIA first revealed a widespread European illegal trade in hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) climate super pollutant gases, a new investigation has revealed that significant levels of trafficking persist, despite the worsening climate emergency.
Fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) are fluorine-containing synthetic compounds with high Global Warming Potentials (GWP). They are the fastest growing group of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and have been regulated in the European Union (EU) since 2006.
Despite this undeniable success, significant greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to almost half a billion tonnes of CO2 are occurring each year, linked to unregulated fluorochemical industrial processes. This briefing explores additional measures that can be taken under the Montreal Protocol to contribute to averting the climate crisis.
EIA is urging significant investment in the ozone treaty, which can secure substantial additional greenhouse gas emission reductions in the near future. A new briefing “Meeting the Moment: Securing the Montreal Protocol’s Legacy in this Decisive Decade for Climate Action” analyses and provides recommendations on a variety of issues on the agenda for MOP35.
This briefing provides a history and overview of the issue of the illegal trade of substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol including CFCs, HCFCs, and HFCs.
EIA’s new report examines previous voluntary private sector commitments on sustainable cooling and offers a framework for developing new commitments that are transparent, measurable, and appropriately ambitious to drive down emissions in this pivotal decade for climate action.