The high-altitude AGAGE Jungfraujoch station in Switzerland is used to take measurements of Earth’s atmosphere.
Jungfrau.ch
HCFCs were a temporary replacement for CFCs, the initial subject of the 1987 Montreal protocol.
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In the first commitment of its kind, 63 countries promised to slash emissions from cooling and refrigeration.
People wore face masks as wildfire smoke from Canada turned New York City’s sky orange on June 7, 2023.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
So much pollution goes into the air today that even without wildfire smoke, 99% of the global population breathes unhealthy air.
Egyptian workers push Coca-Cola branded refrigerators, provided free to grocers, through a Cairo street.
Mohammed Al-Sehiti/AFP via Getty Images
Coca-Cola has made ambitions climate and sustainability pledges, but marketing its products worldwide will always be a top priority.
Modern air conditioners contain hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which emit ozone-depleting chemicals during production.
Ken Welsh/Alamy Stock Photo
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are also potent greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change.
People buy produce at a wholesale market in Nakuru, Kenya, on Dec. 24, 2022.
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Many developing nations have little cold storage and lose much of their perishable food before it gets to markets. Climate-friendly refrigeration can provide huge environmental and social benefits.
Air conditioners are one source of leaking HFCs.
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The US Senate voted to ratify the Kigali Amendment, agreeing on a bipartisan vote to phase down climate-warming HFCs. Now what?
HFCs keep refrigerators cool, but their leaks are warming the planet.
Jed Share/Kaoru Share via Getty Images
HFCs keep refrigerators cool, but when these short-lived climate pollutants leak, they warm the planet.
False-color image of ozone concentrations above Antarctica on Oct. 2, 2015.
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Earth’s ozone layer shields us from harmful ultraviolet radiation. Nations have been working to reduce ozone-depleting chemicals since the 1980s, but recent studies show that there is still work to do.
There is an environmentally friendly option.
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As if having asthma wasn’t bad enough news, your health condition is probably contributing to climate change.
Sunrise over the Earth. Hydrofluorocarbons were created to protect the ozone layer, but their stable nature makes them an extremely potent greenhouse gas.
NASA
Australia has ratified an agreement to phase out hydrofluorocarbons, a manmade compound once hailed as the saviour of the ozone layer. What went wrong?
A wide range of industrial processes have released greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
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While the gases most responsible for global warming - carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide - continue to climb, other industrial greenhouse gases are being brought gradually under control.