A watchdog group found a big loophole in a major environmental policy

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A perceived loophole in the Montreal Protocol has led U.S. factories for decades to emit gases that damage the ozone layer and contribute to climate change.

For more than 35 years, millions of people worldwide have benefited from an international treaty that has phased out gases damaging the ozone layer, a vital atmospheric shield that screens out dangerous ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

The group’s data shows how two types of F-gases - chlorofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons - are entering the atmosphere. Since 2010, the Montreal Protocol has banned the production of chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs. And since 2019, the Kigali Amendment to the protocol has required countries to phase out hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs.

Asked for comment on the findings, Honeywell spokesman Mike Hockey said in an email: “Honeywell complies with and provides air quality reporting as required by the Environmental Protection Agency. We are committed to greenhouse gas reduction and have pledged to become carbon neutral at our facilities and operations.”

The EIA detected emissions of HFOs at the Chemours plant, which the company was not required to report to the EPA. Stephen Yurek, chief executive of the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute, a trade association, said the industry has made significant strides toward phasing out ozone-depleting and planet-warming chemicals. He said the Montreal Protocol’s exemption has allowed the industry to continue making essential everyday products, including the commercial refrigerators in grocery stores across the country.

“These loopholes have been here for decades,” he said. “EIA is actually coming out and bringing it to the forefront of people’s attention.”

 

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A watchdog group just found a big flaw in a landmark environmental treatyA perceived loophole in the Montreal Protocol has led U.S. factories to emit gases that damage the ozone layer and contribute to climate change.
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