United States. Sources from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) discovered on the ground organized crime actors in China illegally producing and using the banned gas CFC-11.
Alexander von Bismarck, Executive Director of EIA says: "The scale of this environmental crime is devastating with a huge potential impact on the climate and ozone layer. Our findings and other well-placed sources in the Chinese chemical industry strongly suggest that this is a broader practice and could explain most of the dishonest air emissions found in the study. We have presented our evidence to the Chinese government and, surprising as it may seem, thanks to the Montreal Protocol there is a mechanism to stop these and other atmospheric superpollutants. "
Scientists (the Montzka newspaper) recently observed significant amounts of CFC-11, a potent ozone and climate destroyer, which has not been told, and presents one of the greatest mysteries of environmental crime in modern history. EIA immediately began investigating and found new evidence that illegal CFC-11 is widely produced and used in China on a scale consistent with the emission estimates cited in the study. In a survey, EIA found several companies that use CFC-11 almost exclusively for foam expansion agents.
Avipsa Mahapatra, EIA climate policy leader says: "It is scandalous that industrial climate killers banned several years ago continue to be produced, used and broadcast on this scale in an industry where better technology is widely available. This could undermine not only slowly healing ozone, but also global efforts to fight climate change. Our findings demonstrate that implementation is not a luxury, but necessary for the success of the Montreal Protocol."
As an environmental watchdog group that uses undercover investigations as a means to expose environmental and criminal crimes around the world, the EIA has shared its initial findings with the Chinese government. A full report will be available in July.
Source: Environmental Research Agency
