The Montreal Protocol has been extremely successful in
enabling the phase-out of ozone depleting substances (ODS).
As a result of these phase-outs, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) have
been commercialized as substitutes for ODS. The HFCs being used
as ODS substitutes are powerful greenhouse gases (GHG) with
global-warming potentials (GWP) hundreds to thousands of times
greater than carbon dioxide (CO2). Recent scientific evidence
indicates that GWP-weighted HFC emissions alone could equate to
as much as 45% of CO2 emissions by 2050, thus eclipsing efforts
to redress global warming.