Scientific Summary Chapter 5: A Focus on Information and Options for Policymakers
Ozone Depletion Potentials (ODPs) and Global Warming Potentials (GWPs) are metrics frequently used to quantify the relative impacts of substances on ozone depletion and climate forcing. In Chapter 5, both ODPs and GWPs have been updated. The direct GWPs for some compounds presented here have not appeared previously in WMO/UNEP or Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments. Indirect GWPs have also been re-evaluated.
Information for Policymakers
The Montreal Protocol is working. It has protected the stratospheric ozone layer from much higher levels of depletion by phasing out production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances (ODSs). Simulations show that unchecked growth in the emissions of ODSs would have led to ozone depletion globally in the coming decades much larger than has been observed. Solar ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation at the surface would also have increased substantially.
The Montreal Protocol and its Amendments and Adjustments have made large contributions toward reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. Because many ODSs are potent greenhouse gases, the Montreal Protocol has successfully avoided larger climate forcing. In 2010, the decrease of annual ODS emissions under the Montreal Protocol is estimated to be about 10 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide-equivalent (GtCO2-eq) per year, which is about five times larger than the annual emissions reduction target for the first commitment period (2008-2012) of the Kyoto Protocol.
The accelerated hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) phase-out agreed to by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in 2007 is projected to reduce cumulative HCFC emissions by 0.6-0.8 million ODP-tonnes between 2011 and 2050 and bring forward the year equivalent effective stratospheric chlorine (EESC) returns to 1980 levels by 4-5 years. In terms relevant to climate, the accelerated HCFC phase-out is projected to reduce emissions by 0.4-0.6 GtCO2-eq per year averaged over 2011 through 2050. The actual climate benefit will be determined, in part, by the climate impact of the compounds used to replace the HCFCs. In comparison, global anthropogenic emissions of CO2 were greater than 30 Gt per year in 2008.
EESC at midlatitudes is projected to return to 1980 levels in 2046 for the baseline (A1) scenario, 2-3 years earlier than projected in the previous Assessment. This revision is primarily due to an improved understanding of lower stratospheric chlorine and bromine release from ODSs, along with contributions from smaller projected HCFC emissions, and despite larger projected emissions of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and a smaller 1980 mixing ratio of methyl bromide (CH3Br).
EESC in the Antarctic vortex is projected to return to 1980 levels around 2073 for the baseline (A1) scenario, 7-8 years later than projected in the previous Assessment. This is primarily due to an improved understanding of lower stratospheric chlorine and bromine release from ODSs, with smaller contributions from changes in the emissions of CCl4 and HCFCs and a smaller 1980 mixing ratio of CH3Br. The return to 1980 levels in the Antarctic vortex is about 26 years later than the return of midlatitude EESC to 1980 levels.
Due to the ongoing success of the Montreal Protocol and its Amendments and Adjustments in reducing the production, emissions, and abundances of controlled ODSs, other compounds and activities not controlled by the Montreal Protocol are becoming relatively more important to stratospheric ozone levels.
Increasing abundances of radiatively important gases that are not controlled by the Montreal Protocol, especially CO2, methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), are expected to significantly affect future stratospheric ozone levels (see also Chapter 3). Under many IPCC future scenarios, it is projected that these gases will cause globally averaged ozone changes larger than those resulting from any of the ODS reduction cases explored in this chapter.
A nitrous oxide (N2O) ODP of 0.017 has been calculated. The anthropogenic ODP-weighted emission of N2O is larger than that of any current halogenated ODS emission. The ODP of N2O is more uncertain than it is for halogenated substances, but it has been known since 1970 that N2O depletes stratospheric ozone. Reductions in N2O emissions would also reduce climate forcing.
Since the previous Assessment, new fluorocarbons have been suggested as possible replacements for potent HCFC and hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) greenhouse gases. For example, HFC-1234yf (CF3CF=CH2) (ODP = 0; 100-year GWP = 4) is proposed to replace HFC-134a (CH2FCF3) (ODP = 0; 100-year GWP = 1370) in motor vehicle (mobile) air conditioning. Each new fluorocarbon proposed as a replacement will require an evaluation for ODP, GWP, atmospheric fate, safety, and toxicity for a thorough understanding of its potential environmental impact. Preliminary analyses of the atmospheric fate of HFC-1234yf indicate that global replacement of HFC-134a with HFC-1234yf at today's level of use is not expected to contribute significantly to tropospheric ozone formation or harmful levels of the degradation product TFA (trifluoroacetic acid). It is well established that TFA is a ubiquitous natural component of the hydrosphere, but uncertainties remain regarding its natural and anthropogenic sources, long-term fate, and abundances.
Options for Policymakers
A new baseline scenario for ODSs is presented in Chapter 5 that reflects our current understanding of atmospheric mixing ratios, production levels, and bank sizes. Elimination of future emissions, production, and banks of various ODSs are applied to this scenario to evaluate the maximum impacts of various hypothetical phase-outs (see Table S5-1). The year EESC returns to 1980 levels, and integrated EESC changes, are two metrics used in the evaluation. The calculations of the years when EESC returns to the 1980 level in these hypothetical cases do not consider other effects such as changing atmospheric transport and lifetimes. An elimination of anthropogenic N2O emissions is also considered and compared to some ODS cases using globally averaged total ozone. In addition to the hypothetical cases discussed below, the impacts on stratospheric ozone of other activities, such as the use of automotive biofuels, commercial subsonic aircraft, and rocket launches, are considered in Chapter 5. These other activities are not expected to substantially affect stratospheric ozone now or in the near future.
Projections suggest that unmitigated HFC growth could result in GWP-weighted emissions up to 8.8 GtCO2-eq per year by 2050, comparable to the GWP-weighted emissions of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) at their peak in 1988. The highest of these projections assumes that developing countries use HFCs with GWPs comparable to those currently used in the same applications in developed countries. The projected radiative forcing in 2050 from these compounds (up to 0.4 W/m2) can be reduced by using compounds with lower GWPs.
Options available for limiting future halocarbon emissions will have less impact on future ozone levels than what has already been accomplished by the Montreal Protocol.
Leakage of CFCs and leakage of halons from the banks are the largest sources of current ODP-weighted emissions of ODSs. A delay of four years, from 2011 to 2015, in the capture and destruction of the estimated CFC banks is currently thought to reduce the potential ozone and climate benefits from these actions by about 30%. The percentage impact of a four-year delay in the capture and destruction of the halon banks is similar.
Elimination of future CCl4 emissions is now projected to have a larger impact on integrated EESC than was projected in the previous Assessment. Recent observed CCl4 mixing ratios have declined more slowly than previously projected. Extrapolation of this trend leads to larger future projected emissions in the baseline scenario and thus to the increased projected impact of the elimination of emissions.
The estimated impact on integrated EESC resulting from elimination of future HCFC production is slightly smaller than in the previous Assessment. The recent growth in reported HCFC production in developing countries was larger than projected in the previous Assessment. This alone would have resulted in a larger projected HCFC production in the new baseline scenario compared to the previous Assessment, but is projected to be more than compensated for by the accelerated HCFC phase-out agreed to by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in 2007. Projections suggest that total emissions of HCFCs will begin to decline in the coming decade due to measures already agreed to under the Montreal Protocol.
The elimination of all emissions of chlorine- and bromine-containing ODSs after 2010 would shift the year EESC reaches the 1980 level by about 13 years, from 2046 to 2033. In terms relevant to climate, this would reduce emissions of these substances by about 0.7 GtCO2-eq per year averaged over 2011 through 2050. Future production of HCFCs and the sum of the current banks of CFCs plus HCFCs contribute about equally to this number. In comparison, global anthropogenic emissions of CO2 were greater than 30 Gt per year in 2008.
A phase-out of methyl bromide emissions from quarantine and pre-shipment (QPS) applications beginning in 2011 would shift the year EESC reaches the 1980 level earlier by 1.5 years compared to continued use at current levels. Continuing critical-use exemptions (CUEs) indefinitely at the approved 2011 level would delay the return of EESC to 1980 levels by 0.2 years.
Elimination of anthropogenic emissions of very short-lived substances (VSLS) could shift the year EESC reaches the 1980 level earlier by almost 3 years, if anthropogenic VSLS contribute 40 parts per trillion of EESC to the stratosphere. It remains unclear, however, how VSLS emissions reductions at different surface locations would affect their contribution to stratospheric chlorine. VSLS are not controlled by the Montreal Protocol.
Table S5-1. Summary of hypothetical cases for accelerating the recovery of the ozone layer and reducing carbon-equivalent emissions.
The table below shows the reductions in integrated EESC and integrated CO2-eq emissions relative to the baseline (A1) scenario that can be achieved in several hypothetical cases. The EESC excess above 1980 levels is integrated from 2011 until the time EESC returns to the 1980 level (before 2050). Any potential contribution from very short-lived substances is neglected.
Substance or Group of Substances
Reductions (%) in Integrated EESC (equivalent effective stratospheric chlorine)
Reduction in Cumulative GWP-Weighted Emissions from 2011 to 2050 (gigatonnes of CO2-equivalent)
Bank capture and destruction in 2011 and 2015:
2011
2015
2011
2015
CFCs
11
7.0
7.9
5.5
Halons
14
9.1
0.4
0.3
HCFCs
4.8
5.3 1
4.9
5.5 1
Production elimination after 2010:
HCFCs
8.8
13.2
CH3Br for quarantine and pre-shipment
6.7
0.002
Total emissions elimination after 2010:
CCl42
7.6
0.9
CH3CCl3
0.1
0.004
HFCs
0.0
Up to 170 3
1 The impact of a 2015 HCFC bank recovery is larger than a 2011 bank recovery because this calculation assumes destruction of the bank in only a single year, and because the bank in 2015 is larger than the bank in 2011 owing to continued annual production that is larger than the annual bank release.
2 Banks are assumed to be zero. Emissions include uncertain sources such as possible fugitive emissions and unintended by-product emissions.
3 Strongly dependent on future projections and does not consider HFC-23 emissions. Currently HFCs are not controlled by the Montreal Protocol, but are included in the basket of gases of the Kyoto Protocol.