National Public Radio published a story last week about a burgeoning threat to the environment: hydrofluorocarbons.  HFCs were originally produced to replace CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) as part of the Montreal Protocol in the late 1980s.  Both groups of chemicals act as refrigerants, but the chlorine in CFCs breaks down oxygen compounds, such as those making up the ozone layer.  HFCs do not deplete ozone, but they do contribute to global warming.  In fact, they have been labeled “super greenhouse gases” by some scientists because they are hundreds to thousands of times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.  The deleterious effects of HFCs have mostly been suppressed due to the fact that, relative to other greenhouse gases, few of the chemicals are produced.  However, NPR’s article indicates that rapidly developing countries like India and China will create considerable demand for these refrigerants in coming years.

Measures are already in place to reduce the fabrication of HFCs.  In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol established that participating countries should lower their HFC production to 1990 or 1995 levels.  However, many of the countries that signed the protocol, including the United States, have done little to carry out its intentions and some participating countries, like India and China, are not even subject to its measures.  Many hope that the upcoming U.N. climate meeting in Copenhagen this December will outline HFC restrictions more definitively than the Kyoto Protocol.  Otherwise, it is predicted that by 2050, the contribution of HFCs to global warming will far outstrip the effects of any current plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.