Emissions of HFCs and PFCs from product use in Norway

Emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) and perfluorocarbons (PFC) from use in products are included in the Norwegian statistics on greenhouse gases and reported by the Norwegian Climate and Pollution Agency (Klif) to the UNFCCC. A project was started by Statistics Norway in 2011, with funding from Klif, in order to include a new data source in the calculations. The project also aimed to update activity data, emission factors and the calculation methodology and tools.

The Norwegian emissions of HFCs and PFCs from product use, as estimated in this project, amounted to 950 000 tonnes CO2-equivalents in 2011. This emission source is hence responsible for less than 2 per cent of the total Norwegian emissions of greenhouse gases. The emissions are assumed to have started around 1990 and have increased mainly because of the imports and use of three HFCs: HFC-125, HFC-134a and HFC-143a. The imports of HFCs for use in refrigeration equipment have seized to increase and even decreased the last few years. This is probably due to the taxation on these chemicals. Imports and use of HFCs in mobile and stationary air conditioning equipments is however still increasing.

The new data source, the Norwegian Directorate of Customs and Exice (TAD), provides annual data on imports of HFCs and PFCs. This data source was mainly used for providing data for 2010-2011, but it was also used for updating activity data for the years 1990-2009. For the years previous to 2010, a time series has been constructed based on a combination of data sources: a query sent to major importers asking for information for the years 1995-1997 and reported amounts of chemicals in bulk to Klif. Exports of HFCs and PFCs are limited and of little importance to the emission estimates. The data are estimated annually based on information from the previously named data sources. Annual data on collection and destruction of HFCs and PFCs has been reported by Stiftelsen returgass for all relevant years (i.e. from 2004).

The starting point for the emission calculations is to determine the amount of chemicals in equipment and bulk respectively being available for use in each relevant application category for each year. The use of HFCs and PFCs in products is assumed to have begun in 1990. The following application categories are considered in the model: domestic refrigeration, commercial refrigeration (stand-alone applications and larger refrigeration systems), transport and industrial refrigeration, stationary and mobile air conditioning, soft and hard foam products, fire protection (portable and fixed flooding systems), aerosols (metered dose inhalators and other) and solvents.

The next step in the calculations is to estimate the amount of chemicals in new equipment, the amount used for production of new equipment, and the amount in retired equipment. The amounts are estimated for each year, application category and type of chemical. Emission factors specific to each applications category are then applied to these amounts in order to estimate emissions, with one exception: emissions from use of mobile air conditioning are determined to be no less than the amount of chemicals imported in bulk, based on a mass balance approach. The amount accumulated in equipment in use is calculated for control purposes.

The updating of activity data, emission factors and methodology, resulted in higher level of emissions for almost all years in the period 1990-2011. This is an effect of change in emission factors (lifetimes) and methodology. Over time, however, the emissions will actually have decreased because of decreasing total imports in the updated activity data.

Author: Kathrine Loe Bjønnes