CHINA / INDIA — New research from the University of Bristol has found that atmospheric levels of hydrofluorocarbon gas, or HFC-23, have continued to rise despite China and India saying they had stopped emissions.
Scientists involved with the study said they expected to find a roughly 90 percent decline in greenhouse gas emissions as part of the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty signed by countries around the world to protect the ozone layer from greenhouse gas emissions.
Researchers gathered data from the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gas Experiment network baseline stations and created model simulations for data between 2015 to 2018. Their research linked HFC-23 emissions to China and India, even though both countries were said to have almost completely halted emissions in 2017.
According to a news release from the University of Bristol, HFC-23 is an extremely potent greenhouse gas, with one ton of HFC-23 emissions being equivalent to more than 12,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
HFC-23 is typically used in cooling systems such as refrigerators and air conditioners, the Guardian reports.
Lead author of the study Kieran Stanley explained in the news release that it is very likely that China wasn't as successful in its endeavor to reduce HFC-23 emissions as was previously reported.
As for India, Stanley said that without additional measurements, the team can't be sure whether or not India was able to implement an emissions reduction program.
