European emissions of halogenated greenhouse gases inferred from atmospheric measurements

Emissions of HCFC-22 and HCFC-142b in China during 2018-2021 Inferred from Inverse Modeling

Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are transitional substitutes for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). However, they still have the capacity to be ozone-depleting substances (ODSs). Therefore, they are scheduled to be phased out in China by 2030 under the Montreal Protocol. The emission estimates of HCFC-22 (CHClF2) and HCFC-142b (CH3CClF2) in China using atmospheric observations are lacking after 2017, making it hard to understand the effectiveness of the phase-out process of HCFCs in China. Here, we use flask and in situ measurements of HCFC-22 and HCFC-142b during 2018-2021 and inverse modeling to determine the emission magnitude and changes in China. It was determined that China's emissions were 172 ± 40, 154 ± 39, 160 ± 22, and 155 ± 33 Gg yr-1 of HCFC-22 and 8.3 ± 1.8, 7.8 ± 1.6, 7.4 ± 1.7, and 7.9 ± 1.7 Gg yr-1 of HCFC-142b from 2018 to 2021, respectively. Top-down estimates show that HCFC-22 emissions in China were stable, while HCFC-142b emissions were decreasing during 2013-2021, although both substances were in the stage of being phased out during 2013-2021. This study reveals that 46 and 39% of the global HCFC-22 and HCFC-142b emissions, respectively, cannot be traced to certain countries in 2020. We suggest that more studies on HCFC emissions around the world in the future are needed to better safeguard the ozone layer recovery and climate mitigation by ensuring compliance with the Montreal Protocol during HCFC phase-out processes.

A review of bottom-up and top-down emission estimates of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in different parts of the world

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are widespread alternatives for the ozone-depleting substances chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons. They are used mainly as refrigerants or as foam-blowing agents. HFCs do not deplete the ozone layer, but they are very potent greenhouse gases, already contributing to global warming. Since 2019 HFCs are regulated under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which demands reliable emission estimates to monitor the phase-down. Quantification of emissions is performed with two methods: bottom-up from product inventories or data on chemical sales; or top-down, inferred from atmospheric measurements by inverse modelling or interspecies correlation. Here, we review and compare the two methods and give an overview of HFC emissions from different parts of the world. Emission estimates reported by the different methods vary considerably. HFC emissions of developed countries (Annex I) are reported to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. These bottom-up estimates add up to only half of global emissions estimated from atmospheric data. Several studies with regional top-down estimates have shown that this gap is not owed to large-scale underreporting of emissions from developed countries, but mostly due to emissions from developing countries (non-Annex I). China accounts for a large fraction of the emissions causing the gap, but not entirely. Bottom-up and top-down estimations of emissions from other developing countries that could identify other large emitters are largely unavailable. Especially South America, West-, Central- and East-Africa, India, the Arabian Peninsula and Northern Australia are not well covered by measurement stations that could provide atmospheric data for top-down estimates.

Emerging reporting and verification needs under the Paris Agreement: How can the research community effectively contribute?

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventories represent the link between national and international political actions on climate change, and climate and environmental sciences. Inventory agencies need to include, in national GHG inventories, emission and removal estimates based on scientific data following specific reporting guidance under the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, using the methodologies defined in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines. Often however, research communities and inventory agencies have approached the problem of climate change from different angles and by using terminologies, metrics, rules and approaches that do not always match. This is particularly true dealing with "Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry" (LULUCF), the most challenging among the inventory sectors to deal with, mainly because of high level of complexity of its carbon dynamics and the difficulties in disaggregating the fluxes between those caused by natural and anthropogenic processes. In this paper, we facilitate the understanding by research communities of the current (UNFCCC) and future (under the Paris Agreement) reporting requirements, and we identify the main issues and topics that should be considered when targeting improvement of the GHG inventory. In relation to these topics, we describe where and how the research community can contribute to producing useful inputs, data, methods and solutions for inventory agencies and policy makers, on the basis of available literature. However, a greater effort by both communities is desirable for closer cooperation and collaboration, for data sharing and the understanding of respective and common aims.

A quantitative assessment of distributions and sources of tropospheric halocarbons measured in Singapore

This work reports the first ground-based atmospheric measurements of 26 halocarbons in Singapore, an urban-industrial city-state in Southeast (SE) Asia. A total of 166 whole air canister samples collected during two intensive 7 Southeast Asian Studies (7SEAS) campaigns (August-October 2011 and 2012) were analyzed for C₁-C₂ halocarbons using gas chromatography-electron capture/mass spectrometric detection. The halocarbon dataset was supplemented with measurements of selected non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs), C₁-C₅ alkyl nitrates, sulfur gases and carbon monoxide to better understand sources and atmospheric processes. The median observed atmospheric mixing ratios of CFCs, halons, CCl₄ and CH₃CCl₃ were close to global tropospheric background levels, with enhancements in the 1-17% range. This provided the first measurement evidence from SE Asia of the effectiveness of Montreal Protocol and related national-scale regulations instituted in the 1990s to phase-out ozone depleting substances (ODS). First- and second-generation CFC replacements (HCFCs and HFCs) dominated the atmospheric halocarbon burden with HFC-134a, HCFC-22 and HCFC-141b exhibiting enhancements of 39-67%. By combining near-source measurements in Indonesia with receptor data in Singapore, regionally transported peat-forest burning smoke was found to impact levels of several NMHCs (ethane, ethyne, benzene, and propane) and short-lived halocarbons (CH₃I, CH₃Cl, and CH₃Br) in a subset of the receptor samples. The strong signatures of these species near peat-forest fires were potentially affected by atmospheric dilution/mixing during transport and by mixing with substantial urban/regional backgrounds at the receptor. Quantitative source apportionment was carried out using positive matrix factorization (PMF), which identified industrial emissions related to refrigeration, foam blowing, and solvent use in chemical, pharmaceutical and electronics industries as the major source of halocarbons (34%) in Singapore. This was followed by marine and terrestrial biogenic activity (28%), residual levels of ODS from pre-Montreal Protocol operations (16%), seasonal incidences of peat-forest smoke (13%), and fumigation related to quarantine and pre-shipment (QPS) applications (7%).

Inversion Approach to Validate Mercury Emissions Based on Background Air Monitoring at the High Altitude Research Station Jungfraujoch (3580 m)

The reduction of emissions of mercury is a declared aim of the Minamata Convention, a UN treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from adverse effects of mercury. To assess the effectiveness of the convention in the future, better constraints about the current mercury emissions is a premise. In our study, we applied a top-down approach to quantify mercury emissions on the basis of atmospheric mercury measurements conducted at the remote high altitude monitoring station Jungfraujoch, Switzerland. We established the source-receptor relationships and by the means of atmospheric inversion we were able to quantify spatially resolved European emissions of 89 ± 14 t/a for elemental mercury. Our European emission estimate is 17% higher than the bottom-up emission inventory, which is within stated uncertainties. However, some regions with unexpectedly high emissions were identified. Stationary combustion, in particular in coal-fired power plants, is found to be the main responsible sector for increased emission estimates. Our top-down approach, based on measurements, provides an independent constraint on mercury emissions, helps to improve and refine reported emission inventories, and can serve for continued assessment of future changes in emissions independent from bottom-up inventories.

Global emissions of refrigerants HCFC-22 and HFC-134a: unforeseen seasonal contributions

HCFC-22 (CHClF2) and HFC-134a (CH2FCF3) are two major gases currently used worldwide in domestic and commercial refrigeration and air conditioning. HCFC-22 contributes to stratospheric ozone depletion, and both species are potent greenhouse gases. In this work, we study in situ observations of HCFC-22 and HFC-134a taken from research aircraft over the Pacific Ocean in a 3-y span [HIaper-Pole-to-Pole Observations (HIPPO) 2009-2011] and combine these data with long-term ground observations from global surface sites [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) networks]. We find the global annual emissions of HCFC-22 and HFC-134a have increased substantially over the past two decades. Emissions of HFC-134a are consistently higher compared with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) inventory since 2000, by 60% more in recent years (2009-2012). Apart from these decadal emission constraints, we also quantify recent seasonal emission patterns showing that summertime emissions of HCFC-22 and HFC-134a are two to three times higher than wintertime emissions. This unforeseen large seasonal variation indicates that unaccounted mechanisms controlling refrigerant gas emissions are missing in the existing inventory estimates. Possible mechanisms enhancing refrigerant losses in summer are (i) higher vapor pressure in the sealed compartment of the system at summer high temperatures and (ii) more frequent use and service of refrigerators and air conditioners in summer months. Our results suggest that engineering (e.g., better temperature/vibration-resistant system sealing and new system design of more compact/efficient components) and regulatory (e.g., reinforcing system service regulations) steps to improve containment of these gases from working devices could effectively reduce their release to the atmosphere.

Matrix infrared spectra and density functional calculations for new iso-halomethanes: CHCl2-Cl, CHFCl-Cl, CFCl2-Cl, CHBr2-Br, and CBr3-Br in solid argon

Laser ablation of transition metals for reactions with halocarbons to produce new metal bearing molecules also exposed these samples to laser plume radiation and its resulting photochemistry. Investigations with CCl4 also produced several known neutral and charged intermediate species, including the iso-tetrachloromethane CCl3-Cl observed in previous work and identified by the Maier group. CHCl2-Cl, CHFCl-Cl, and CFCl2-Cl, photoisomers of CHCl3, CHFCl2, and CFCl3, were also identified in matrix IR spectra. The new C-X bonds are shorter than those of the reactants, and the Cl atom that is weakly bonded to the residual Cl atom forms an unusually strong C-Cl bond. NBO analysis reveals substantial C═Cl double-bond character, and the weak Cl···Cl bond is largely ionic. Therefore, the CHX2-X species can be represented as HXC═X(δ+)···X(δ-). Ionic properties are revealed for CCl3-Cl, which has an average C-Cl bond length near the median for the CCl3 radical and cation and a natural charge of +0.49 for the CCl3 subunit. IRC computations reproduce smooth interconversion between the reactants and products, and the transition state is energetically close to the product, which is consistent with its disappearance on visible irradiation.