The news: Levels of a gas that is 12,400 more damaging than carbon dioxide in terms of its planet-heating properties are higher than ever.
HFC-23 was believed to have been almost completely eliminated after India and China reported they had reduced emissions to almost zero in 2017. In fact, a year later emissions were at an all-time high of 15,900 tons, equivalent to the annual CO2 output from about 50 coal-fired power plants, according to a paper published today in Nature Communications.