http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-20/u-k-has-prospect-to-make-significant-more-hfc-reductions-study-shows.html

The U.K. has made considerable progress in reducing emissions of hydrofluorocarbons, the potent industrial gases that trap heat, and technological changes create prospects for further “significant” cuts, a study showed.

Emissions of HFCs in the U.K. will peak at 11.2 million tons of carbon-dioxide equivalent in 2012 before falling to 8.9 million tons in 2020 and 5.3 million tons in 2050 as industries turn to more efficient systems and alternative refrigerants, according to the study prepared by climate and energy consultancy AEA and published today by the U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Governments worldwide are considering whether to phase out production of HFC-23, an industrial gas used mainly in refrigeration, whose warming potential is 11,700 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Separately, the European Union regulator is preparing a proposal to impose quality restrictions on imported offset credits related to industrial gases that can be used for compliance in the EU carbon market.
“Post 2012, leakage rates are likely to further improve and the use of lower global-warming potential refrigerants are likely to make a bigger impact, reducing the HFC emissions gradually,” the report said.
The European Commission, the EU’s regulator, intends in coming weeks to propose extra quality conditions for UN credits awarded for tackling emissions of HFC-23, which is a by-product of HCFC-22, used in air-conditioning and refrigeration. The commission is concerned that projects generating offsets may be increasing HCFC-22 output simply to get credits for controlling HFC-23 discharges, handing investors windfall profits.
Clean Development
Regulators of the UN carbon program, the Clean Development Mechanism, are also ramping up scrutiny after allegations that some developers are seeking excessive credits related to HFC-23. The CDM Executive Board is planning to decide whether the methodology for awarding those offsets should be changed at its meeting in November.
“The results in the study, together with further domestic analysis, will be used to inform a review of the existing EU framework for controlling emissions that has recently got under way,” Defra said in an e-mailed statement today.
Separately, governments worldwide are considering phasing out production of HFC-23 under the ozone-protection rules of the Montreal Protocol.
Draft measures before a meeting of the parties next month include a proposal by the U.S., Mexico and Canada to cut HFCs to 15 percent of baseline by 2033 in developed nations and by 2043 in developing countries. The Federated States of Micronesia are proposing that HFCs be reduced to 10 percent of baseline by 2030 in developed nations and 2036 in developing countries.