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This section presents news and 
current information related to HCFCs,
drawn from diverse sources woldwide. It is part of the HCFC
Help Centre, which provides technical, policy and other information
to support the transition to non-HCFC alternatives.
Let us know if you have any additional news articles, press releases
and other media reports about HCFCs - including the source and the
url - that we can add to the list.
This compilation would serve as an archive for future reference.
Please send any suggestions to samira.degobert@unep.org
Thank you!
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Attenuation of Fluorocarbons Released from Foam Insulation in
Landfills
Environmental Science
and Technology, Vol. 41, No. 22, 2007 |
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Answer to Hot Air Was in Fact a Chilling Blunder
SMH.com, Ben Cubby Environment
Reporter, Dec 18, 2007 |
> Montreal
Protocol's Success Offers Lessons for Climate Change
Parties Continue Commitment to Maximize Ozone Regime's Climate
Benefits
IGSD Press Release, BALI,
INDONESIA, Nov 17, 2007 |
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Sweden and UNEP Team Up to Help Developing Countries Phase out
of Ozone Depleting HCFCs
Newsdesk (pressmeddelande),
Sweden - Nov 19, 2007 |
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The UN Secretary-General Welcomes Historic Agreement to Phaseout
Hydrochlorofluorocarbons, Chemical Compound Damaging to Ozone
Layer, Contributor to Climate Change
UN Department of Public
Information, News and Media Division, New York,
24 September 2007
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson
for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:
The Secretary-General
welcomes the agreement reached over the weekend by the signatories
of the Montreal Protocol to sign up to an accelerated freeze
and phase-out of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), the chemical
compound which damages the ozone layer and also contributes
to climate change.
The Secretary-General is especially pleased that this historic
agreement was reached on the eve of the high-level event on
climate change convened by him on the margins of the United
Nations General Assembly. He notes that international efforts
to protect the ozone layer and to combat climate change are
mutually supportive. He also notes that the agreement reached
in Montreal includes a commitment to make sufficient funding
available to implement the strategy of phasing out HCFCs. The
Secretary-General hopes Member States will demonstrate the same
urgency and boldness as they turn to the sources of greenhouse
gases. |
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Combating Climate Change Given Big Confidence Boost in Canad
Governments Agree to Accelerated 'Freeze and Phase-out"
of Ozone and Climate-Damaging Chemicals at Montreal Protocol's
20th Anniversary Celebrations
Montreal/Nairobi, 22 September 2007 - An historic agreement
to tackle the twin challenges of protecting the ozone layer
and combating climate change has been agreed by governments.
Nations signed up to an accelerated freeze and phase out of
substances known as hydrochlorflurocarbons (HCFCs) under the
20 year-old Montreal Protocol- the UNEP treaty established in
1987 to protect the Earth's ozone layer from chemical attack.
United Nations Environment
Programme, Environement Canada |
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Pressures Affecting the Climate and Atmosphere
National State of the Environment
Report - South Africa
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Argentina and Brazil Propose HCFC Phaseout
Temas Actuales - Mar 20,
2007 |
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Environmental Benefits of the New, Stronger HCFC Phaseout Agreement
US EPA,
October 2007
The agreement to adjust the phase-out schedule for HCFCs is
expected to reduce emissions of HCFCs to the atmosphere by 47
percent, compared to the prior commitments under the treaty
over the 30-year period of 2010 to 2040. For the developing
countries, the agreement means there will be about a 58 percent
reduction in HCFCs emission over the 30 year period.View
a graph showing the HCFC reductions in developing countries,
reflecting the agreement at the 19th Meeting in Montreal.The
climate benefits of the stronger HCFC agreement will depend
on technology choices of the transition from HCFCs during the
30 year time frame of the HCFC phase out. The estimated climate
benefit of the new, stronger HCFC phase out may be as much as
9,000 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO
2-eq), or the equivalent of removing the climate emissions from
70 million U.S. passenger cars each year, for the next 30 years.
This means the new, stronger HCFC agreement is equivalent to
eliminating the climate emissions from 50 percent of all U.S.
passenger cars each year, for the next 30 years.Another way
of explaining the climate benefit of the new, stronger HCFC
phaseout agreement is to say it is equivalent to eliminating
the climate emissions from the electricity needed by 40 million
U.S. households each year, for the next 30 years, which would
be eliminating the climate emissions from the electricity needed
by 40 percent of U.S. households each year, for the next 30
years.
Read analyses of climate benefits of the overall HCFC agreement
at the 19th Meeting in Montreal.Read
analyses of ozone and climate benefits of the U.S. proposal
(PDF).
Read Comparison of the Montreal Protocol and United States Phaseout
Schedules. |
>
Ten Steps to a Green Supply Chain
Electronics Supply &
Manufacturing - Oct 30, 2007 |
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article currently available, Please
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HCFC Consumption and Challenges in China
China
current consumption of HCFCs is approximately 63% of the
total consumption and about 88% of the total production
of Article 5 countries. In the past few years, the HCFCs
consumption in China has been increasing at average annual
rate of more than 20% and it is expected to continue grow
under the unconstrained scenario. This will impose huge
challenges to China to meet with its compliance commitments
with the Montreal Protocol. Added to this, it is the challenges
to slow down the growth rate and then reverse the growth
trend, which will be the first priority for the Government
of China.
To
address such challenges within next 3 years, the Government
of China is planning to adopt three parallel but well-connected
strategies:
1)
To initiate policy intervention to control establishment
of HCFC based production facilities and control the expansion
of production capacity of the existing facilities;
2)To
develop and implement demonstration/investment projects
in various sectors within the guidelines of the Executive
Committee, which serve as leading examples for other peers
to follow; and
3)
To outreach the HCFC phase-out challenge and promote awareness
on HCFC phase-out among the local authorities at various
levels, end-users of the HCFC based equipment, and the
general public.
In
the past decade and more, China has been using very effectively
public campaigns on the emerging challenge of ozone layer
depletion and facilitating the ozone depletion substance
(ODS) phase-out through various approaches, especially
taking the opportunity of celebrating the World Environment
Day and the International Ozone Day. However, due to the
fact that HCFCs have been used as alternatives for the
phase-out of CFCs, HCFCs based equipment used to be considered
as “Green” products.
Furthermore,
with the intended promotion of HCFCs products, some local
manufacturers’ misleading advisement/ introduction
has increased more confusion of HCFCs and other ODSs.
There are some new sectors using HCFCs which were never
involved in the ODS phase-out before, for example, Expanded
Polystyrene (XPS, foam used as insulation)) and room air
conditioner. The end-users of such products haven’t
been informed of HCFCs issues and the availability of
HCFC-free products/equipment's. Raising awareness of broad
end-users has been approved as an effective measure to
push the manufacturer to adopt non-HCFC technology; therefore,
it would slow down the growth of the HCFCs consumption.
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Sun Rrises on China's Fluorochemicals
(Chemical Business NewsBase
(Composite)-, Nov 16, 2007 |
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Breakthrough Air Conditioning Technology Completely Eliminates
the Use of Hazardous CFCs and HCFCs
jrj.com, China - Nov 15,
2007
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UNEP Organizes Meeting OF ODS Officers in Bali
Antara, Indonesia - Nov
11, 2007
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Indonesia toBan CFC Use in Manufacturing Process Starting
July 2008
Antara, Indonesia - Nov
11, 2007
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HFCs at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
To avoid the use of HCFCs, which are Ozone Depleting Substances,
the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the 29th Olympiad
(BOCOG) has announced that most venue owners have chosen refrigerants
ranging from HFC-134a, R-410a, and R-407c to lithium bromide.
China’s State Environmental Protection Administration and
UNEP in co-operation with the BOCOG – are addressing stratospheric
ozone protection as part of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
BOCOG has issued environmental guidelines to prevent unnecessary
use of ODS in construction, marketing and catering services.
2008 is the year chosen for China’s accelerated phase out
of CFCs, in advance of the 2010 deadline required by the Montreal
Protocol.
International Institute
of Refrigeration |
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Refex Refrigerants Gets Special Import License from DGFT
Press Trust of India, Oct
30, 2007
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article currently available, Please
submit |
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Replacing HCFC in Aerospace Applications
Manufacturing Talk, UK
- Nov 12, 2007 |
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Materials Scare at Lanarkshire Site
Contract Journal, UK -
Oct 31, 2007 |
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Pollution Fears Halt Demolition
BBC News, UK - Oct 25,
2007 |
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The GEANT CASINO Hypermarket Branch of CASINO Group Chooses
Arkema's Forane 427A
Chemical Business NewsBase
(Composite), Oct 22, 2007 |
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A French decree issued on May 7, 2007 regulates the marketing,
use, recovery and destruction conditions of chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs) hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons
(HFC) in refrigeration or air-conditioning units
Journal Officiel de la
République Française, May 8, 2007
The decree implements recent European F-gas Regulation on refrigerants.
It applies to refrigeration and air conditioning, automobile
air-conditioning systems and heat pumps, whatever their refrigerant
charges, contrary to the previous 1992 decree which did not
apply to charges under 2 kg.
According to the decree, actions such as refrigerant charging,
commissioning and maintenance of equipment, tightness checks,
refrigerant recovery, or any other operation relative to refrigerants
should be performed by staff who have been certified by authorized
organizations.
It is also specified that tightness checks should be regularly
performed for all equipment with a charge over 2 kg and that
refrigerant distributors should provide their clients with appropriate
containers for used refrigerant recovery and to handle the refrigerants
returned to them in these containers free of charge.
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Disclaimer - The views expressed in articles
are solely the viewpoints of their authors and do not represent
the policy or viewpoint of UNEP. While UNEP strives to avoid
inclusion of misleading or inaccurate information, it is ultimately
the responsibility of the reader to evaluate the accuracy
of any linked news article.
The citing of commercial technologies, products or services
does not constitute endorsement of those items by UNEP.
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