HFC-23 : Environment for UPSC Exams
HFC-23 : Environment for UPSC Exams
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Taking the lead on tackling climate change, India has said that it will eliminate the use of HFC-23, a greenhouse gas that harms the ozone layer, by 2030.
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HFC-23, a potent greenhouse gas with global warming potential of 14,800 times more than that of CO2, is a by-product of HCFC-22, which is used in industrial refrigeration.
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HCFC stands for hydrochloroflurocarbon.
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As per Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment, the move will potentially check emissions of HFC-23 equivalent to 100 million tonnes of CO2 over the next 15 years.
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The new Indian law requires the five Indian firms that produce HCFC-22 to capture and burn HFC-23 and eliminate its release into the atmosphere.
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The five Indian companies, along with 19 other firms mainly in China, have earlier received funds to set up incinerators under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). During 2007-2013, they destroyed the gas and sold the carbon credits to developed countries. Since the collapse of the global CDM market, the levels of HFC-23 in the atmosphere have increased.