The importance of phasing down hydrofluorocarbons and other short-lived climate pollutants

Zaelke, Durwood; Borgford-Parnell, Nathan

doi:10.1007/s13412-014-0215-7

Cited by 21 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Hence, in addition to the direct climate benefits of HFC emission reductions, transitioning away from HFCs can catalyze additional climate benefits through improvements in the energy efficiency of the refrigerators, air conditioners, freezers, and other products and equipment that currently use HFCs. Historically, refrigerant conversions, driven by refrigerant phaseouts under the Montreal Protocol, have catalyzed significant improvements in the energy efficiency of refrigeration and AC systemsup to 60 % in some subsectors (Zaelke et al, 2013). Similar improvements are expected under an HFC phase-down following the KA targets.…”

Section: Hfc Reduction Scenariosmentioning

confidence: 92%

Electricity savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions from global phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons

et al. 2020

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Abstract. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are widely used as cooling agents in refrigeration and air conditioning, as solvents in industrial processes, as fire-extinguishing agents, for foam blowing, and as aerosol propellants. They have been used in large quantities as the primary substitutes for ozone-depleting substances regulated under the Montreal Protocol. However, many HFCs are potent greenhouse gases (GHGs) and as such subject to global phase-down under the Kigali Amendment (KA) to the Montreal Protocol. In this study, we develop a range of long-term scenarios for HFC emissions under varying degrees of stringency in climate policy and assess co-benefits in the form of electricity savings and associated reductions in GHG and air pollutant emissions. Due to technical opportunities to improve energy efficiency in cooling technologies, there exist potentials for significant electricity savings under a well-managed phase-down of HFCs. Our results reveal that the opportunity to simultaneously improve energy efficiency in stationary cooling technologies could bring additional climate benefits of about the same magnitude as that attributed to the HFCs phase-down. If technical energy efficiency improvements are fully implemented, the resulting electricity savings could exceed 20 % of future global electricity consumption, while the corresponding figure for economic energy efficiency improvements would be about 15 %. The combined effect of HFC phase-down, energy efficiency improvement of the stationary cooling technologies, and future changes in the electricity generation fuel mix would prevent between 411 and 631 Pg CO2 equivalent of GHG emissions between 2018 and 2100, thereby making a significant contribution towards keeping the global temperature rise below 2 ∘C. Reduced electricity consumption also means lower air pollution emissions in the power sector, estimated at about 5 %–10 % for sulfur dioxide (SO2), 8 %–16 % for nitrogen oxides (NOx), and 4 %–9 % for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions compared with a pre-Kigali baseline.

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Section: Hfc Reduction Scenariosmentioning

confidence: 92%

Electricity savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions from global phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons

et al. 2020

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“…According to three research studies completed in Brazil, inverter units using lower GWP 195 refrigerants can save up to 67% energy compared to fixed speed units with high GWP R-410A (UNEP/TEAP, 2019). Energyrelated emissions can be reduced with lowered cooling demands, more efficient equipment, and operating strategies that maximize system performance (Calm, 2006;Mills, 2011;Sharma et al, 2014;Shah et al, 2015;Purohit et al, 2016;Dreyfus et al, 2017;Sharma et al, 2017;Zaelke and Borgford-Parnell, 2015;IEA, 2018;Purohit et al, 2018b;. Shah et al (2013) find that even the best currently available technology offers large efficiency improvement opportunities (35-70% 200 reduction in energy consumption from the market average) in room air-conditioners.…”

Section: Hfc Reduction Scenarios 160mentioning

confidence: 99%

Electricity savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions from global phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons

Purohit¹,

Höglund-Isaksson²,

Dulac³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Abstract. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are widely used as cooling agents in refrigeration and air conditioning, as solvents in industrial processes, as fire extinguishing agents, for foam blowing and as aerosol propellants. They have been the primary substitutes for ozone-depleting substances regulated under the Montreal Protocol (MP). However, HFCs are potent greenhouse gases (GHGs) and as such subject to global phase-down under the Kigali Amendment (KA) to the MP. In this study, we develop a range of long-term scenarios for HFC emissions under varying degrees of stringency in climate policy and assess co-benefits in the form of electricity savings and associated reductions in GHG and air pollutant emissions. Due to technical opportunities to improve energy efficiency in cooling technologies during the phase-down of HFCs, there exist potentials for significant electricity savings under a well-managed phase-down of HFCs. Our results show that annual pre-KA baseline emissions of HFCs are expected to increase from almost 0.5 to about 4.3 Gt CO2eq between 2005 and 2050 and reach between 6.2 and 6.8 Gt CO2eq in 2100. The growth is driven by a strong increase in demand for refrigeration and air conditioning services, which in turn is driven by an expected increase in per capita wealth in developing countries and a warmer future climate. We estimate that full compliance with KA means cumulative global HFC emissions that are 87 % lower than in the pre-KA baseline between 2018 and 2100. Also, the opportunity to simultaneously improve energy efficiency in stationary cooling technologies during such a transition could bring about additional climate benefits of about the same magnitude as that attributed to the phase-down of HFCs. If technical energy efficiency improvements are fully implemented, the resulting electricity savings could exceed a fifth of future global electricity consumption. Together with an HFC phase-down, this means preventing between 390 and 640 Gt CO2 equivalent of GHG emissions between 2018 and 2100, thereby making a significant contribution towards keeping the global temperature rise below 2 °C. Reduced electricity consumption also means lower air pollution emissions in the power sector, estimated at about 10 % for SO2, 16 % for NOx and 9 % for PM2.5 emissions, compared with a pre-KA baseline.

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“…Note that abatement costs are defined as the incremental cost of switching from the current technology to an enhanced technology in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. Many alternative technologies provide additional indirect emissions savings and monetary benefits through increased energy efficiency, as compared to traditional HFC technologies (Kauffeld, 2012;Zaelke and Borgford-Parnell, 2015;UNEP, 2016a). We have included monetary benefits accrued by increased energy efficiency.…”

Section: Abatement Costsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases 2005–2050 with abatement potentials and costs

Purohit

Höglund-Isaksson

2017

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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Abstract. This study uses the GAINS model framework to estimate current and future emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases), their abatement potentials, and costs for twenty source sectors and 162 countries and regions, which are aggregated to produce global estimates. Global F-gas (HFCs, PFCs, and SF 6 ) emissions are estimated at 0.7 Pg CO 2 eq. in 2005 with an expected increase to 3.7 Pg CO 2 eq. in 2050 if application of control technology remains at the current level. There are extensive opportunities to reduce emissions using existing technology and alternative substances with low global warming potential. Estimates show that it would be technically feasible to reduce cumulative F-gas emissions from 81 to 11 Pg CO 2 eq. between 2018 and 2050. A reduction in cumulative emissions to 23 Pg CO 2 eq. is estimated to be possible at a marginal abatement cost below 10 EUR t −1 CO 2 eq. We also find that future F-gas abatement is expected to become relatively more costly for developing than developed countries due to differences in the sector contribution to emissions and abatement potentials.

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The importance of phasing down hydrofluorocarbons and other short-lived climate pollutants

Cited by 21 publications

References 12 publications

Electricity savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions from global phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons

Electricity savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions from global phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons

Electricity savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions from global phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons

Global emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases 2005–2050 with abatement potentials and costs

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