A new study documents the mysterious presence of five banned chlorofluorocarbons, chemicals that not only deplete the ozone layer but also contribute to global warming
CLIMATEWIRE | Five ozone-depleting substances are increasing in the atmosphere, a new study finds, despite an international ban on their use and production.
CFCs are widely known for having depleted the Earth's atmospheric ozone layer through the 1980s. The five mystery CFCs are causing little damage to the ozone layer, the study says, but the climate impacts are substantial. In 2020, the five CFCs had a combined effect that was equivalent to about 47 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
A 2010 update to the agreement banned the production of CFCs for any purpose that would lead them to enter the atmosphere. In theory, that means they should all have been decreasing over the last decade. The supposedly climate-friendly replacement — HFOs — turns out to have climate impacts because CFCs are an ingredient in their manufacture and leak out during the production process.
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