If released into the atmosphere, those CFCs would hold the same heat as the carbon dioxide emissions from burning 16 million gallons of gasoline. Last year, a coalition of scientists and policy experts at the nonprofit Drawdown ranked the top one hundred climate change solutions by level of impact. But it did. The Drawdown study estimated that properly disposing of old refrigerants, rather than letting them leak into the air, would be equivalent to preventing nearly 90 gigatons of carbon dioxide from reaching the atmosphere.
CO 2 emissions. Yet actually doing this, particularly in developing countries, is still being worked out, thanks to financial and logistical challenges. Still, a new wave of entrepreneurs think they have found solutions that work both for the climate and companies.
The Montreal Protocol, which controls the release of refrigerants into the atmosphere, is heralded as one of the most successful environmental treaties, in part because of the speed and unanimity with which the nations of the world responded to the threat to the ozone layer. Within just four years of the discovery of the thinning ozone hole, the agreement was in force. But the Montreal Protocol is also important because of what it did for the climate.
Ozone-depleting gases turned out to be potent greenhouse gases. But in order to achieve consensus, negotiators of the Montreal Protocol had to be forward-looking. Today those CFC banks have decreased in size; most of the gas has already leached into the atmosphere. If the world holds to the agreement, the Kigali Amendment is set to avoid nearly a degree Fahrenheit temperature increase by the end of the century.
Disposing of the bank properly could do even more. Estimates are based on historical inventories of equipment that contains refrigerants.
Unused canisters of CFCs, like the ones in the shed in Ghana, are probably not included in those models since they were never put into equipment. Something had to be done. The gas can be incinerated in special kilns, breaking the molecules into a benign mixture. But with no disposal facilities in all of Ghana, indeed all of West Africa, the problem is financial. Chicago entrepreneurs Tim Brown and Gabe Plotkin believe the answer lies with the private sector.
They work at Tradewater , a company that develops projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Their business model is based on being able to sell those reductions as carbon offset credits on carbon markets.
In California, the cap-and-trade market buys and sells such carbon credits. That rule is one reason why most of the CFCs in the U.
So, Plotkin and Brown turned to the voluntary carbon market. The voluntary carbon market is where individuals and corporations go to buy carbon offsets , not because they are required to, but because they choose to meet personal or internal goals for carbon neutrality.
Offset projects on the voluntary market range from wind farms in Asia to reforestation in South America to clean cookstove projects in Africa. Chlorofluorocarbons CFCs , hydrochlorofluorocarbons HCFCs and halons destroy the earth's protective ozone layer, which shields the earth from harmful ultraviolet UV-B rays generated from the sun.
Hydrofluorocarbons HFCs also act to warm the planet. Man-made compounds such as chlorofluorocarbons CFCs , hydrofluorocarbons HCFCs and halons destroy ozone in the upper atmosphere stratosphere.
The stratospheric ozone layer makes life possible by shielding the earth from harmful ultraviolet UV-B rays generated from the sun. Decreased concentration of stratospheric ozone allows increased amounts of UV-B to reach the earth's surface. Stratospheric ozone loss can result in potential harm to human health and the environment, including:. Most stratospheric ozone depletion is caused when chlorine or bromine reacts with ozone.
The following is a summary of the related control: Measures Commencement Date Control of import and export of scheduled substances 1. Conduct regular inspection and maintenance of air-conditioning and refrigeration appliances to prevent and minimize refrigerant leakage.
User review date:. Friday, 17 May, Ozone Layer Protection and You Content 1. What are these ozone depleting substances ODS used for? What are the international efforts in saving the ozone Layer? How can I help to protect the ozone layer? Methyl Bromide. Freeze consumption at base level starting 1. Control of import and export of scheduled substances.
Banning of import for local consumption of halons. Licensing of import of methyl bromide strictly for local quarantine and pre-shipment applications. Licensing of import of HCFCs for local consumption. Banning of import for local consumption of BCM.
Website: www. CHFBr 2. CHF 2 Br. CH 2 FBr. C 2 HFBr 4. C 3 HFBr 6. CHFCl 2. CHF 2 Cl. CH 2 FCl.
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