HFC-23 is a potent greenhouse gas, predominantly emitted as an undesired by-product during the synthesis and processing of HCFC-22 (ref. ¹). Previously, the Clean Development Mechanism and national efforts called for the implementation of abatement technology for reducing HFC-23 emissions^2,3. Nevertheless, between 2015 and 2019, a divergence was found between the global emissions derived from atmospheric observations and those expected from reported abatement^1,2. Primarily, this points to insufficient implementation of abatement strategies^2,4, calling for independent verification of the emissions at the individual chemical facility level. Here we use regional atmospheric observations and a new, deliberately released tracer to quantify the HFC-23 emissions from an HCFC-22 and fluoropolymer production facility, which is equipped with waste gas destruction technology. We find that our inferred HFC-23/HCFC-22 emission factor of 0.19% (0.13–0.24%) broadly fits within the emission factor considered practicable for abatement projects^5,6. Extrapolation to global HCFC-22 production underscores that the operation of appropriate destruction technology has the potential to reduce global HFC-23 emissions by at least 84% (69–100%) (14 (12–16) Gg yr⁻¹). This reduction is equivalent to 17% CO₂ emissions from aviation in 2019 (ref. ⁷). We also demonstrate co-destruction of PFC-318, another by-product and greenhouse gas. Our findings show the importance of the 2016 Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which obligates parties to destroy HFC-23 emissions from facilities manufacturing hydrochlorofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons “to the extent practicable” from 2020 onwards⁸.

HFC-23 是一种强效温室气体，主要在 HCFC-22 的合成和加工过程中作为不需要的副产品排放（参考文献¹ ）。此前，清洁发展机制和国家努力呼吁实施减排技术以减少 HFC-23 排放^2,3 。然而，2015 年至 2019 年间，大气观测得出的全球排放量与报告的减排量预期之间存在差异^1,2 。这主要表明减排策略实施不充分^2,4 ，需要对单个化学设施层面的排放进行独立核查。在这里，我们使用区域大气观测和一种新的、故意释放的示踪剂来量化 HCFC-22 和含氟聚合物生产设施的 HFC-23 排放量，该设施配备了废气销毁技术。我们发现，我们推断的 HFC-23/HCFC-22 排放因子 0.19% (0.13–0.24%) 大致符合减排项目认为可行的排放因子^5,6 。外推全球 HCFC-22 生产强调，采用适当的销毁技术有可能将全球 HFC-23 排放量减少至少 84% (69–100%) (14 (12–16) Gg yr ^-1 )。这一减少量相当于 2019 年航空业 CO ₂排放量减少 17%（参考文献⁷ ）。我们还演示了另一种副产品和温室气体 PFC-318 的共同销毁。 我们的研究结果显示了 2016 年《蒙特利尔议定书》基加利修正案的重要性，该修正案要求缔约方从 2020 年起“在可行的范围内”销毁氢氯氟碳化合物和氢氟碳化合物生产设施的 HFC-23 排放⁸ 。