Author: Stephen Johnson / Source: Big Think
Scientists report that levels of a banned, ozone-depleting chemical are on the rise in Earth’s atmosphere, but the culprit remains a mystery.
The chemical in question is CFC-11, which was once used in refrigeration and degreasers until it became one of several chlorofluorocarbons banned by the Montreal Protocol in 1987.
That agreement, a response to a large hole in the ozone over Antarctica, was ratified by all U.N. members. The hole in the ozone has since diminished.But shockingly, emissions of CFC-11 have been rising since 2013, according to a study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature.
“It’s the most surprising and unexpected observation I’ve made in my 27 years,” said study lead author Stephen Montzka, a research chemist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “Emissions today are about the same as it was nearly 20 years ago.”
It’s unclear who’s responsible for the increase of the chemical into the atmosphere, where it can last 50 years. However, measurements listed in the study suggest it’s being emitted somewhere around China, Mongolia and the Koreas.
“Somebody’s cheating,” Durwood Zaelke, founder of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development and an expert on the Montreal Protocol, told the Washington Post. “There’s some slight possibility there’s an unintentional release, but…they make it clear there’s strong evidence this…
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