Scientists discover China has been secretly emitting banned ozone-depleting gas

[NED funded]

A chemical banned around the globe for the last 30 years has made an unfortunate resurgence. And all signs, in a new study, point to China as the culprit.

In the 1980s, countries came together to sign The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, a landmark treaty designed to halt and reduce the production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), chemicals used in fridges and foams that had the side effect of tearing through the Earth’s ozone layer.

The Montreal Protocol has been signed by 197 countries around the world, including Canada, the U.S., and China. As the ozone layer in our upper atmosphere slowly depleted — letting in an increasing amount of the sun’s ultraviolet rays — the protocol contributed to a significant reduction in harmful CFCs, which then allowed for a slow healing of the damaged ozone layer.

That is until last year, when scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association found that global emissions of Trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11) have actually been increasing since 2013.

The increase implied that someone was secretly violating the Montreal Protocol. But the limitations of measuring devices meant the location of the polluter could only be traced to somewhere in east Asia.

Now, in a new study published in Nature on May 22, scientists from the University of Bristol, Kyungpook National University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that between 40 and 60 per cent of total global CFC-11 emissions originate from eastern China.

With the help of an international network of measurement devices designed to identify and track gases in the atmosphere, the team behind the study found that data from their devices in Korea and Japan has spiked since 2013. After analyzing weather and wind patterns to determine the origin of the gas increase, it led them to eastern mainland China, around the Shandong province.

“It wasn’t entirely a surprise,” said Matthew Rigby, lead author of the study and Reader in Atmospheric Chemistry in the School of Chemistry at the University of Bristol. A few months after the initial report was released last year, both the Environmental Investigation Agency and the New York Times published reports in which Chinese manufacturers in the region confirmed they were using CFC-11 in the production of foams.

Manufacturers told the EIA they continued to use the banned product because of its better quality and cheaper price. The New York Times reported that some factories were producing the gas in secret, while other manufacturers said the local governments turned a blind eye.

However, Rigby said scientists and watchdogs didn’t know just how much manufacturers in China were emitting — about 7,000 tonnes of CFC-11 since 2013 in that area alone.

“That’s more than double the emissions we were expecting from China at the time,” he said. “Was this enough to account for a substantial fraction of the global emissions rise that we saw? What we’ve found in this study is that, yes, it is globally significant.”

Rigby also mentions that CFC-11 is a greenhouse gas, about “5,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide at warming the climate.”

The Chinese government has been cracking down on illegal CFC-11 manufacturers and shutting down production facilities and Rigby hopes this new study will help law enforcement officials in their search for illicit producers.

Due to the limited locations of their monitoring network, Rigby said the study team cannot conclusively determine where the rest of the CFC emissions are coming from, pointing out they have no information on regions such as South America, western China and India.

According to a 2018 United Nations report, due to the progress of the Montreal Protocol, the huge ozone hole that forms above Antarctica could be completely healed by the mid-century.

But Rigby said if the increased emissions from eastern China aren’t stopped soon, the healing process could be delayed by “potentially decades.”

https://nationalpost.com/news/world/...-depleting-gas

From the government that was called a leader in the environment.

[Foosha]

I say this time and time again after everyone praises China and stupid EU/World treaties where the U.S doesnt sign it or does or whatever. It doesnt fucking matter if we do or don't. What matters is the oversight, and said treaty is fucking useless if there is no oversight or sanctions for countries that dont follow it. Why are you so worried about America when China actually signs it and then blatantly lies. America isnt going to pollute the world of existence, third world shitholes and China are

BUT BUT TRUMP!

[Ashleyxoxo]

They dun goofed.

[Exeris]

Let me guess, no person of relevance will do anything other than maybe whine a little about it and continue to give China free passes to do what ever they feel like.

[Every Pwny]

This will be ignored mostly and people will continue to praise China every time they make a big announcement over building a solar panel, and then complain that the US or EU are far behind china in terms of protecting the environment.

[Monster Hunter]

https://nationalpost.com/news/world/...-depleting-gas

From the government that was called a leader in the environment.

any one actually shocked by this news ? any one ?

[PC2]

I'm sure the dirtiest country will start some new marketing project that somehow convinces progressives that China is actually the greenest country.

[Polyxo]

China's a hard case to deal with environmentally. They're simultaneously one of the worst gross pollutant emitters, and the model of efficiency in terms of emissions per capita. They're also a country where the central government genuinely wants to really cut down on pollutants, and is rife with mid-low level bureaucrats who can easily be bribed to look the other way when polluters want to keep things going.

I'm pretty certain China's central committee knows that they're going to take the first and most dire effects of global warming, ozone depletion, and pollution as a whole on the chin. However, their ability to remake their 'wild west' style economy full of snake oil salesmen and grifters into something where professional accountability really matters isn't something that's going to happen overnight.

[Cruor]

I say this time and time again after everyone praises China and stupid EU/World treaties where the U.S doesnt sign it or does or whatever. It doesnt fucking matter if we do or don't. What matters is the oversight, and said treaty is fucking useless if there is no oversight or sanctions for countries that dont follow it. Why are you so worried about America when China actually signs it and then blatantly lies. America isnt going to pollute the world of existence, third world shitholes and China are

BUT BUT TRUMP!

You literally posted word for word what I was going to, complete with the whiny "but Trump!"

[Stelio Kontos]

@Kangodo

Hey bruh, how you gonna spin this one?

[Sunseeker]

What!? China would never disregard the international rule of law.

[Kokolums]

The truth is, China could just start dumping all kinds of toxic waste into the sea and air and brag about it and nobody could do a damn thing. I mean what are you gonna do? Tariffs? Embargoes? That won't stop them. A war? That would go nuclear and the environment gets destroyed anyway.

[Logwyn]

The truth is, China could just start dumping all kinds of toxic waste into the sea and air and brag about it and nobody could do a damn thing. I mean what are you gonna do? Tariffs? Embargoes? That won't stop them. A war? That would go nuclear and the environment gets destroyed anyway.

China will break up within the next 50 years into smaller countries much like the USSR.

[smityx]

I'm quite shocked by this. It can't be true. Not Jina

*snipped*

Infracted - Minor Spam

[Daedius]

China's a country that doesn't give a shit about anything, be it its people (incredibly poor safety regulations, for example) or the environment.

It's a morally corrupt nation.

[coblade14]

https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/hats/combined/CFC11.html

Is it actually increasing though? This site shows that it's decreasing ever since the 90s.

[PC2]

The truth is, China could just start dumping all kinds of toxic waste into the sea and air and brag about it and nobody could do a damn thing.

It'll be fine. They might have to eat toxic food for a couple (shortened)generations but there are purification regimes that can restore once polluted areas to safe levels. Anybody claiming "irreversible resource damage" is full of shit.

[Chinese Bootlickers]

Oh no China, how could you lie to us like this?
*snipped*

Infracted - Minor Spam

[Malikath]

A war? That would go nuclear and the environment gets destroyed anyway.

you vastly underestimate modern anti-ICBM measures.
the reason you've seen an up tick in mass-personnel armies post the nuclear MAD era is the slow and steady neutralization of the threat of nuclear Armageddon.

[Collegeguy]

Surprised right? It's embedded in China's culture to lie about pollution at this point.