China pledges to limit emissions of coolant that swells greenhouse gases

Closing session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing
A paramilitary police officer stands guard on Tiananmen Square shrouded in smog, before the closing session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People on a polluted day in Beijing, China March 10, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo

SHANGHAI, Sept 25 (Reuters) - China will take action to control emissions of HFC-23, a potent greenhouse gas created during the production of refrigerants, the environment ministry said on Saturday.

Beijing is facing pressure to phase out HFC-23 in its obligations under the Kigali Amendment of the Montreal Protocol on ozone-depleting substances, which took effect in China this month.

Also known as trifluoromethane, HFC-23 is one of 18 types of hydrofluorocarbons to be gradually banned under the measure. It is a by-product of HCFC-22, a refrigerant widely produced in China, although illegal in Europe.

An official of the Ministry of Ecology and Environmental Protection said on its website that China's 19 makers of HCFC-22 must install approved HFC-23 disposal technologies and submit annual emissions data to the United Nations.

They will also be encouraged to capture and use HFC-23 as a raw material, to keep it out of the atmosphere, the official was quoted as saying.

Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Clarence Fernandez

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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