The recovery of the stratospheric ozone layer relies on the continued decline in the atmospheric concentrations of ozone-depleting gases such as the chlorofluorocarbons 1. The atmospheric concentration of trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11), the second most abundant chlorofluorocarbon, has declined substantially since the mid-1990s 2. A recently reported slowdown in the decline of the atmospheric concentration of CFC-11 after 2012, however, implies that global emissions have increased 3,4. A concurrent increase in CFC-11 emissions from eastern Asia contributes to the global emission increase, but the location and magnitude of this regional source remain uncertain 3. Here we use high-frequency atmospheric observations from Gosan, Republic of Korea and Hateruma, Japan, together with global monitoring data and atmospheric chemical transport model simulations to investigate regional CFC-11 emissions from eastern Asia. We find that emissions from eastern mainland China are 7.0 ± 3.0 Gg yr-1 higher in 2014-2017 compared to 2008-2012, and the emissions increase arises primarily around the northeastern provinces of Shandong and Hebei. This increase accounts for a substantial fraction (about 40-60%, or more) of the global CFC-11 emission rise. We find no evidence for a significant increase in emissions from any other eastern Asian countries or other regions of the world where available data allow for the detection of regional emissions. Attribution of any remaining fraction of the global CFC-11 emission rise to other regions is limited by the sparsity of long-term measurements of sufficient frequency near potentially emissive regions. Multiple considerations suggest that the increase in CFC-11 emissions from eastern mainland China is likely the result of new Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS, UK, formerly the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)) contract 1028/06/2015 to the University of Bristol and the UK Meteorological Office. Ragged Point, Barbados is supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, USA), contract RA-133-R15-CN-0008 to the University of Bristol. L.W., M.L.

Following the Montreal Protocol, emissions of ozone-depleting substances, including trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11, CCl3F), decreased substantially since the mid-1980s, leading to initial stratospheric ozone recovery and substantial climate change mitigation 1,2 . However, CFC-11 emissions began rising again in 2013, three years after the global production phase-out 3 . Atmospheric observations from eastern Asia attributed much of the global rise to emissions from eastern China 4 . Here, we show that in 2019, emissions from eastern China returned to pre-2013 levels (5.0 ± 1.0 Gg yr -1

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