partly halogenated hydrofluorocarbons

Climate | Energy

Heat pumps

Luft-Wasser-Wärmepumpe

Heat pumps are coming into increasing use for heating of buildings and for hot water production in commercial as well as industrial applications. Heat pumps use natural heat in a very energy-efficient way. read more

Climate | Energy

Persistent fluorinated greenhouse gases

The atmospheric concentration increases. It was 10 ppt in 2020.

Long-lived fluorinated greenhouse gases are characterized by a long atmospheric residence time and a global warming potential well above 5000 CO2 equivalents. They are not degraded in manageable periods of time, but accumulate in the atmosphere. Besides sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) and fully fluorinated hydrocarbons (PFC), such as CF4 and C2F6, belong to this group of subs... read more

Climate | Energy

Emission trajectories

As a signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Germany is required to elaborate annual emission inventories, including for fluorinated greenhouse gases. read more

Climate | Energy

Eco-friendly transport refrigeration

Transport of refrigerated and chilled products like food is on the rise worldwide. Whether goods are transported on the road, by train or ship, the cooling temperatures must be maintained exactly. Many transport refrigeration units contain fluorinated refrigerants acting as greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These substances need to be replaced by refrigerants having less impact on the climate. read more

Climate | Energy

Building air conditioning

A lot of room air conditioners hangig on the face of a building

It is only recently that air conditioning has become relatively common in German buildings. The high standard of living has ramped up expectations concerning comfort and convenience in the home and particularly at the workplace, and this in turn has increased energy demand. The refrigerants used in more than 95 percent of Germany’s air conditioners strongly affect the climate. read more

The Umweltbundesamt

For our environment