Alliance One-Pagers

HCFCs & HFCs Your Right to Choose
Consistent with Safety, Health, Development, and Environmental Goals

Developing Countries Need All Technology Options to Ensure a Timely CFC Phaseout

The Montreal Protocol is entering a critical phase where CFC alternatives will be required in developing countries. Unnecessary restrictions on availability of alternatives could slow the CFC phaseout for all countries. The Protocol provided flexibility for countries to determine their own phaseout plans. This flexibility requires that all alternatives be available, In most cases, HCFCs and HFCs have been chosen because they satisfy the safety, health, and perfor- mance standards of CFCs consistent with environmental goals. They also provide cost effective solutions enabling the rapid progress toward ozone layer recovery.

HCFCs and HFCs have been essential to the developed country phaseout of CFCs. Market use analysis indicates that CFCs are being replaced by much lower amounts of the alternative fluorochemicals. HCFCs and HFCs are being used at only the rate of 20-25% of the prior CFC consumption. Tightened systems, improved repair practices, emissions reductions, and non-fluorocarbon substitutes in all developed country sectors have largely eliminated the remainder of the consumption. [ Pie Chart: Replacement of CFCs in Developed Countries ]

CFC Substitution Has Reduced Global Warming Contributions

The choice of fluorocarbon alternatives has been based on safety standards [low toxicity and flammability], performance standards [reliability and cost], and lifetime environmental impact. One consideration has been reducing atmospheric lifetimes of alternatives and their corresponding impact on climate change. In addition, high energy efficiency reduces energy use - which reduces emissions of carbon dioxide, the major contributor to climate change.

Long term, fluorocarbons are expected to contribute less than 3% of total greenhouse gas emissions. This small amount of global climate change potential impact is more than offset by the fluorocarbon attributes of safety, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness in societal demands such as refrigeration, air conditioning, and energy efficient foam insulation. [ Net climate effect graph ]

Air Conditioning

Two aspects of air conditioning systems are important. The global warming impact relates to the refrigerant used and its leak rate. In addition, the carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption while operating the system relate to the system efficiency and the energy source. Both components must be included in life cycle environmental evaluations.

For example, a high efficiency U.S. air conditioning system using HFC-410A has lower life cycle impact than a propane system. In an existing system, propane could have a lower impact but many system modifications would be required to address flammability. The increased cost required could be applied to the HFC-410A system increasing its efficiency and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 2000 kg. over its life. For equivalently costed systems the HFC-410A system has lower life cycle impact. Both comparable cost options have improved energy efficiency compared to the existing HCFC-22 system, by 7% and 2% for HFC-410A and propane respectively.

Foam Insulation

Highly energy efficient foam insulation, blown with HCFCs and HFCs is installed as home and building insulation, as well as in appliances such as re&igerators and freezers. Advantages over non-fluorocarbon alternatives include up to 15% more insulation value by foaming with HCFC or HFC blowing agents. Avoidance of excessive carbon dioxide emissions is achieved annually through the 50-year life in many applications.

Recent action by the U.S. Department of Energy to strengthen energy performance standards for appliances is directly attributable to the performance of HFC-based foam. [ Ground-based Northern Hemisphere Total Ozone ] [ Atmospheric Lifetime of HCFCs and HFCs ]

HCFC Ozone Impact is Less Today than What was Projected in 1994

According to the Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 1998 Executive Summary, "The rate of decline in stratospheric ozone at mid-latitudes has slowed; hence, the projections of ozone loss made in the 1994 Assessment are larger than what has actually occurred."

Ozone depletion is less than projected when current Montreal Protocol control measures were agreed. Therefore, further HCFC use limitation action is unjustified. Furthermore, additional restrictions on HCFCs would encourage continued use of CFCs, causing even greater ozone depletion. According to the Scientific Assessment, additional production of only 20-40 thousand tons of CFCs for 10-20 years would increase cumulative ozone depletion by 1-4%.

HCFCs are significantly lower in ozone depleting potential and HFCs have no ozone depletion potential, while both have lower global warming potential than CFCs. Both HCFCs and HFCs maintain the same high level of safety in use as CFCs with significantly lower overall environmental impact. Therefore, developed and developing countries have the right to choose compounds that are performing a beneficial societal role in protection of the environment.

The Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy is a leading industry voice that coordinates industry participation in the development of reasonable international and U.S. government policies regarding ozone protection and global climate change.

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The Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy
2111 Wilson Blvd., Suite 850 - Arlington, VA 22201
Phone: (703) 243-0344 - Fax: (703) 243-2874
E-mail: info@arap.org

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