Empa Reports Reveal Under-Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Pollutant measurements performed by the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Empa, has revealed that quite a few countries have under-reported their emissions.

According to the Kyoto Protocol for reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG), emission of fluorinated hydrocarbons must be reduced. Official reports state that in Western Europe trifluoromethane (HFC-23) is decreasing. But Empa studies reveal otherwise.

Countries that are a part of the ‘United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’ report their emission levels. Countries, which do not report reduced emissions are pilloried. It is also very difficult to verify if the countries do abide with the agreement.

Empa used ‘MEDUSA,’ a special gas chromatograph mass spectrometer, that could rapidly and accurately evaluate emission levels of over 50 halogenated GHG and also identify the sources of the emissions for performing the pollutant measurements. It revealed that Western Europe was emitting around twice the amount of HFC-23 than it was reporting officially. Italy’s HFC-23 emissions were 10 to 20 times more than what it was reporting.

The suspicion over under reporting arose from readings derived from the ‘Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment’. HFC-23 emissions have a 270 year atmospheric half life and 15,000 times greater global warming potential than CO₂. HFC-23 is mostly emitted by manufacturers of chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-22), a product used in the production of Teflon and as a foaming and cooling agent. In 2008 there were six manufacturers in Western Europe.

Empa researchers analyzed HFC-23 emission data at the AGAGE measurement station, Mace Head in Ireland, and at the 3580 masl Jungfraujoch research station in Switzerland for about two years from July 2008. They found repeated mysterious peaks, which exceeded the average values. They traced the origination of the polluted air masses with HFC-23 to the HCFC-22 factory near Milan, Italy. Official records pictured Italy as HFC-23-free since 1996. The unreported values were around 270,000 to 630,000 t of CO₂ equivalent.

Empa researchers probed deeper and found that Great Britain and the Netherlands also under- reported values. Germany’s and France’s figures were within the declared values. The computer model also accurately identified the six HCFC-22 factories.