Do you know what is a refrigerant? If no, basically it’s a chemical compound that because of its properties has been widely used for example, in air conditioners, refrigerators, foams, etc. CFCs are very famous refrigerants that were addressed by the Montreal Protocol in 1987, they were replaced by the “less harmful” (at least for the ozone layer) HFCs. However, have you heard about United Nations Conference in Rwanda 2016? If not, it might be interesting and a little surprising that it purpose is to reduce in 0.5°C the global warming effect during this century. It may not sound like it is much, but in fact it is, if we compare with the objective of reaching a temperature increase limit of 2°C proposed by the IPCC.
How are they going to do that? I have already said that HFCs were a replacement to keep safe the ozone layer, but in recent years we discovered that they are a major threat that contributes to global warming because of its GWP, which is between 1,000 to 9,000 (some sources even suggest a higher limit at 10,000) times stronger than CO2. Well, not exactly discovered, but we notice that is an issue because of some facts as: leaks in cooling systems that are used all over the world, growing demand of development countries for air condition systems (that in near future will be more necessary due to climate change) and because of it low cost of production, that makes it the most convenient to use by companies. Currently, it represents the 8% of global warming impact.
Figure 1. Rise in the consumption of HFCs as a replacement of CFCs, globally.
In summary, we solve the ozone layer problem to create a new, but the good and optimistic part is that nowadays there is a stronger environmental consciousness, just realizing that representatives of 170 countries (there are 194 countries in all the world) meet to solve a problem based on scientific data is a huge commitment of a human common agreement. The results, banning its use as follows:
“starting with high-income countries in 2019, then some low-income countries in 2024 and others in 2028” (DRAWDOWN, 2017)
And that is not all, there are other agreements, The European Union has established regulations to reduce leaks and big companies as Coca-Cola (a major user of refrigerants) is shifting to better alternatives.
Figure 2: Global HFCs consumption by sector, 2012
Furthermore, the cost of transition of technology have to be taken in account, and more good news because there is a fund (by donors and philanthropies) that is willing to help with around 53 million dollars to cover those costs.
This is a proof of that we have developed as a society, because we are now able to fight against environmental problem with a global perspective, we are not just looking for individual interest, but for common benefit. Of course we still have challenges, as to make those new replacements safe for humans and with no unintended effects. Also, we have achieved a convergence between proposals and actions. In our case as college students, this impels us to promote this type of change and to contribute in future studies to find better methods of energy efficiency. It means for society in general that we can continue to develop economically, and respecting the environment when we are able to reach agreements to preserve the future of our planet.
Plumer, B (2016). The biggest climate change story in the world this week is quietly playing out in Rwanda. Available athttps://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2016/10/12/13250202/hfcs-air-conditioning-montreal-protocol
Drawdown (2017). Materials refrigerant management. Link available at: http://www.drawdown.org/solutions/materials/refrigerant-management
Zhao, L., W. Zeng, and Z. Yuan. “Reduction of Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Room Air-Conditioner Refrigerants: A Life Cycle Carbon Footprint Analysis.” Journal of Cleaner Production, 100 (2015): 262–268.
Climate optimism 
I find it interesting how many problems are solved with what turns out to be another problem further into the future. I think the speedy banning of HFCs is a good one, and it is promising that there is a fund in place to help with affording new technologies. I think that in the future it is important that we as a society and decision makers are mindful of the solutions that we choose, in order to avoid these problems happening again.
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