Environmental Update

Refrigerants

HFCs

The U.S. government joined with Canada and Mexico in formally submitting a proposal to phase down the use of HFCs by developed nations beginning in 2013, culminating in an 85 % phase down by 2033. Last week the EU endorsed using the Montreal Protocol to phase down HFCs.

 Carbon Dioxide

The U.S. EPA approved the use of CO2 for Supermarket Coolers as part of the SNAP program. Sanyo announced the development of Japan's fist DX refrigeration system using CO2. A split cycle and proprietary two stage rotary compressor provide lower energy consumption than previous HFC models.

A recent study "estimates that a CO2 point-of-sale chiller could cost around twice as much as an HFC equivalent. "

 Buildings

A new economic analysis found that the worldwide building sector is the cheapest source of emissions cuts, and that it can cut one-third of global emissions with investments that largely pay for themselves.

The report, The Economics of Energy, found that efficiency improvements in residential buildings offer better cost recovery than in commercial buildings. In the U.S., the average abatement cost for households is $9 per ton, compared with a building-sector wide average of $28 per ton. The same cuts by industry or transportation would cost $210 or $300 a ton. "It's already possible, even without a carbon price, to make buildings 30 % more efficient, with paybacks coming within 5 years."

Atmospheric Science

Ozone Depletion 

A European Space Agency study found ozone layer depletion is leveling off. The "data show a decrease in ozone from 1979 until 1997, and a small increase since then."

Canadian research finds climate change will alter atmospheric circulation, increasing the flux of ozone from the upper to the lower atmosphere causing a change in the amount of UV radiation reaching the Earth's surface, e.g. up to a 20 % increase over southern high latitudes during spring and summer, and a 9 % decrease over northern high latitudes, by the end of the century.