Under-reported greenhouse gas statistics? Sketchy emission reports revealed by Swiss measurements
Thursday, August 18, 2011 - 21:30
in Earth & Climate
Fluorinated hydrocarbons are potent greenhouse gases, emission of which must be reduced under the Kyoto Protocol. If you rely on the official reports of the participating countries, the output of trifluoromethane (HFC-23) in Western Europe is indeed significantly decreasing. However, pollutant measurements carried out by researchers in Switzerland now reveal that several countries under-report their emissions. For instance, Italy emits 10 to 20 times more HFC-23 than it officially reports.