Potent greenhouse gases – fluorinated gases in the European Union
EEA report on fluorinated greenhouse gases 2011
The European Environment Agency (EEA) has published new aggregated information on the production and trade of fluorinated gases – or F-gases – in the EU. Although emitted in relatively small quantities, the emissions of these gases are increasing, and many are several thousand times more powerful greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide (CO2).
In 2011, F-gases were used mostly for refrigeration and air-conditioning purposes, as well as in electrical equipment and in the production of foams and aerosols.
The new report, compiled by the EEA for the first time in cooperation with the European Commission, presents a summary of the latest data reported by 120 individual companies that have either produced, sold, imported or exported F-gases in the European Union (EU).
F-gases are important because they contributed 2 % of total EU-27 GHG emissions in 2010, measured in terms of CO2-equivalent. Moreover, according to the latest official EU greenhouse gas emissions data, their contribution has been steadily growing since 1990.
Quelle: European Environment Agency, Copenhagen, 2012