skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Considerable contribution of the Montreal Protocol to declining greenhouse gas emissions from the United States

Journal Article · · Geophysical Research Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL074388· OSTI ID:1476525
 [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [3];  [4]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [2]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [2];  [2];  [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [5];  [5]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [7]; ORCiD logo [8]; ORCiD logo [2]
  1. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). Earth System Research Lab., Global Monitoring Division
  2. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). Earth System Research Lab., Global Monitoring Division
  3. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Inst. of Arctic and Alpine Research
  4. US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),Washington, DC (United States). Stratospheric Protection Division, Office of Atmospheric Programs, Office of Air and Radiation
  5. Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Lexington, MA (United States)
  6. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Environmental Technologies Area
  7. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Earth and Environmental Sciences Area
  8. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); Univ. of Groningen (Netherlands). Centre for Isotope Research

Ozone depleting substances (ODSs) controlled by the Montreal Protocol are potent greenhouse gases (GHGs), as are their substitutes, the hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Here we provide for the first time a comprehensive estimate of U.S. emissions of ODSs and HFCs based on precise measurements in discrete air samples from across North America and in the remote atmosphere. Derived emissions show spatial and seasonal variations qualitatively consistent with known uses and largely confirm U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) national emissions inventories for most gases. The measurement-based results further indicate a substantial decline of ODS emissions from 2008 to 2014, equivalent to ~50% of the CO2-equivalent decline in combined emissions of CO2 and all other long-lived GHGs inventoried by the EPA for the same period. Total estimated CO2-equivalent emissions of HFCs were comparable to the sum of ODS emissions in 2014, but can be expected to decline in the future in response to recent policy measures.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1476525
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1374927
Journal Information:
Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 44, Issue 15; ISSN 0094-8276
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 26 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (39)

Emergence of healing in the Antarctic ozone layer journal June 2016
Vertical mixing in atmospheric tracer transport models: error characterization and propagation journal January 2008
Comparing atmospheric transport models for future regional inversions over Europe – Part 1: mapping the atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> signals journal January 2007
Preserving Montreal Protocol Climate Benefits by Limiting HFCs journal February 2012
Reconciling reported and unreported HFC emissions with atmospheric observations journal April 2015
An extended Kalman-filter for regional scale inverse emission estimation journal January 2012
Recent Trends in Global Emissions of Hydrochlorofluorocarbons and Hydrofluorocarbons: Reflecting on the 2007 Adjustments to the Montreal Protocol journal November 2014
U.S. emissions of HFC-134a derived for 2008-2012 from an extensive flask-air sampling network: US emissions of HFC-134a journal January 2015
Results from the International Halocarbons in Air Comparison Experiment (IHALACE) journal January 2014
Recent and future trends in synthetic greenhouse gas radiative forcing journal April 2014
The importance of the Montreal Protocol in protecting climate journal March 2007
Linking emissions of fossil fuel CO 2 and other anthropogenic trace gases using atmospheric 14 CO 2 : THE journal April 2012
Stratospheric sink for chlorofluoromethanes: chlorine atom-catalysed destruction of ozone journal June 1974
Present and future trends in the atmospheric burden of ozone-depleting halogens journal April 1999
Maximum likelihood estimation of covariance parameters for Bayesian atmospheric trace gas surface flux inversions journal January 2005
Decrease in the growth rates of atmospheric chlorofluorocarbons 11 and 12 journal August 1993
Decline in the Tropospheric Abundance of Halogen from Halocarbons: Implications for Stratospheric Ozone Depletion journal May 1996
Estimates of European emissions of methyl chloroform using a Bayesian inversion method journal January 2014
The production and release to the atmosphere of CCl3F and CCl2F2 (chlorofluorocarbons CFC 11 and CFC 12) journal January 1986
Latitudinal distribution of the sources and sinks of atmospheric carbon dioxide derived from surface observations and an atmospheric transport model journal January 1989
The large contribution of projected HFC emissions to future climate forcing journal June 2009
Inverse Methods for Atmospheric Sounding: Theory and Practice book July 2000
Future atmospheric abundances and climate forcings from scenarios of global and regional hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) emissions journal December 2015
Assessment of the climate commitments and additional mitigation policies of the United States journal September 2016
Non-CO2 greenhouse gases and climate change journal August 2011
Estimating European emissions of ozone-depleting and greenhouse gases using observations and a modeling back-attribution technique journal January 2003
Extension and integration of atmospheric carbon dioxide data into a globally consistent measurement record journal January 1995
Global and regional emission estimates for HCFC-22 journal January 2012
An analytical inversion method for determining regional and global emissions of greenhouse gases: Sensitivity studies and application to halocarbons journal January 2009
Global emissions of refrigerants HCFC-22 and HFC-134a: Unforeseen seasonal contributions journal November 2014
Continued emissions of carbon tetrachloride from the United States nearly two decades after its phaseout for dispersive uses journal February 2016
An extended Kalman-filter for regional scale inverse emission estimation journal January 2012
The production and release to the atmosphere of CCl3F and CCl2F2 (chlorofluorocarbons CFC 11 and CFC 12) journal January 1986
Comparing atmospheric transport models for future regional inversions over Europe – Part 1: mapping the atmospheric CO2 signals journal January 2007
Vertical mixing in atmospheric tracer transport models: error characterization and propagation journal January 2008
Results from the International Halocarbons in Air Comparison Experiment (IHALACE) journal January 2014
Estimates of European emissions of methyl chloroform using a Bayesian inversion method journal January 2014
Global and regional emission estimates for HCFC-22 journal January 2012
An analytical inversion method for determining regional and global emissions of greenhouse gases: Sensitivity studies and application to halocarbons journal January 2009

Cited By (10)

Environmental effects of ozone depletion, UV radiation and interactions with climate change: UNEP Environmental Effects Assessment Panel, update 2017 journal January 2018
Ozone–climate interactions and effects on solar ultraviolet radiation journal January 2019
Emissions of halocarbons from India inferred through atmospheric measurements journal January 2019
An unexpected and persistent increase in global emissions of ozone-depleting CFC-11 journal May 2018
Establishing long-term measurements of halocarbons at Taunus Observatory journal January 2018
Abundance and sources of atmospheric halocarbons in the Eastern Mediterranean journal January 2018
Changes in HCFC Emissions in China During 2011–2017 journal August 2019
Enhanced North American carbon uptake associated with El Niño journal June 2019
Increase in CFC-11 emissions from eastern China based on atmospheric observations journal May 2019
Establishing long-term measurements of halocarbons at Taunus Observatory text January 2018