Reducing the climate impact of black market HFC gases

**HFC温室气体--你从未听说过的最大黑市 ** 英国和欧洲的气候目标正受到蓬勃发展的HFC（氢氟碳化物）黑市的破坏，HFC在F-gas配额制度的雷达下进入欧盟。我们的利益相关者从2020年7月开始的研究表明，氢氟碳化合物的非法贸易量可能高达欧盟法律的市场的三分之一（相当于至少？8.5亿吨），排放了3400万吨二氧化碳当量的温室气体。这相当于8.7个燃煤发电站运行一年，5，756，402个家庭一年的用电量，或者3，388，107辆汽车绕地球一周！就其本身而言，这个黑市将是欧盟第20大国家的CO？如果与欧盟27个成员国一起测量非法氢氟碳化合物的全球变暖潜力，爱沙尼亚的全国排放量将超过爱沙尼亚。** 你不是唯一一个没有意识到这个问题的人 ** 非法贸易是有组织犯罪团伙的最大资金来源，也是一个跨境的国际挑战。不幸的是，目前，防止氢氟碳化合物非法贸易的法规几乎不存在。国家执法的重点在其他地方，未经训练的眼睛很难区分一个绿色罐和另一个。这使得这种非法的HFC业务风险很低，利润很高，比毒品交易和人口贩运更有利可图和更具吸引力。不仅如此，由于非法氢氟碳化合物可能会“不知不觉地”进入建筑物、空调（建筑、汽车和运输）系统、制冷系统和其他轻工业，因此转向清洁能源和实现净零目标的努力可能会受到破坏和完全否定。** 检测、强制执行和安全消除非法交易的氢氟碳化合物的解决方案 ** Vistalworks提出了一种技术解决方案，可以自动检测氢氟碳化合物的非法销售者，向执法机构提供适当的司法线索，沿着必要的现场工具包，以帮助普通官员在发现非法产品时检测这些产品，并收集和存储案件数据，以支持成功起诉。这一解决方案在国家和全球层面上提供了显著的社会效益，每年有可能减少17万吨二氧化碳的非法氢氟碳化合物造成的与气候相关的排放。

**HFC greenhouse gases - the biggest black market you've never heard of** The UK and Europe's climate goals are being undermined by a thriving black market for HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons), which enter the EU under the radar of the F-gas quota system. Our stakeholder's research from July 2020 suggests the illicit trade volume in HFCs could be as high as a third of the legal EU market (equivalent to at least ?850million) and accounting for 34 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases. That is the CO2 equivalent to 8.7 coal fired power stations running for a year, 5,756,402 homes electricity use for a year, or 3,388,107 car trips around the entire circumference of the earth! On it's own, this black market would be the EU's 20th largest country in terms of CO? impact - ahead of the entire national emissions of Estonia - if the global warming potential of illegal HFCs were measured alongside the EU's 27 member states. **You're not the only one who's not aware of this problem** Illicit trade is the biggest source of funding for organised criminal gangs, and is a cross-border, international challenge. Unfortunately, right now, enforcement of the regulations preventing illegal trade in HFCs are virtually non-existent. National law enforcement priorities are elsewhere, and it is hard to tell one green canister from another to the untrained eye. That makes this illegal HFC business very low risk, very profitable, and far more lucrative and attractive than drug dealing and human trafficking. Not only that, but because illicit HFCs can "unwittingly" find their way into buildings, air conditioning (building, cars and transport) systems, refrigeration systems and other light industry, efforts to switch to Clean Energy and meet Net Zero targets can be undermined and completely negated. **Solution to detect, enforce and safely eliminate illegally traded HFCs** Vistalworks is proposing a technology solution that automatically detects illegal sellers of HFCs, provides jurisdictionally appropriate leads to enforcement agencies, along with the necessary field kit to help ordinary officers detect illicit products when they find them, and collects and stores case data in a way that will support successful prosecutions. This solution delivers social good at a nationally and globally significant levels, potentially curbing the significant levels of climate-related emissions caused by illicit HFCs by 170,000 tonnes of CO2 a year.