China identified as source of unexpected rise in CFC emissions

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New production believed to be responsible for increasing levels of outlawed ozone-depleting chemical

At least 40-60% of the increase in emissions of a key ozone-depleting chemical reported last year can be traced back to sources in eastern China, atmospheric chemists have shown.

The observations appear to confirm suspicions that trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11) is being manufactured in China in contravention of the 1987 Montreal Protocol, the international agreement to phase out CFCs.