The Brazilian government this month launched its HCFC (hydrochlorofluorocarbon) Elimination Program, in keeping with the Montreal Protocol, whose goal is to halt consumption of these gases and eliminate them by 2030. Consumption of HCFCs has grown in recent years, replacing the CFCs, which were the primary target of the Protocol.

Brazil imports 27,000 tons per year of HCFCs, which deplete the Earth’s atmospheric ozone layer. They are used in refrigeration (60 percent) and in petrochemical products (35 percent), according to Anderson Alves, technical adviser to the United Nations Development Program, which is supporting the Brazilian effort.

“Ammonia could replace them in refrigeration, but it is very toxic. Other alternatives are still expensive, complicated to use, or require training and safety measures,” Alves told Tierramérica.