Refrigerant Leakage Far Larger than Expected

摘要

According to a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) survey, leakage of fluorinated refrigerants, including HCFCs and HFCs used in air conditioning equipment in Japan, into the air is 10 times more than estimated. In the survey, leakage from household air conditioners was 10 times more than previously estimated, while leakage from commercial refrigeration and air conditioning equipment was between 3-20 times more than estimated. Since HFCs have very high GWP, Japan's total greenhouse gas emissions compared with emissions in 1990, the reference year designated in the Kyoto Protocol, will be revised upward.