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CO2 Environment-Friendly for Auto Air-Conditioners, Agency Says
2010-08-26 08:11:20.851 GMT
By Jeremy van Loon
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Carbon dioxide, which contributes to
global warming, is the best gas to use in automotive air-
conditioners because it results in lower greenhouse-gas
emissions, Germany's environment agency said.
C02 is more "environmentally friendly" than
tetrafluoropropene, the coolant most commonly used in air-
conditioning systems for cars, Germany's Umweltbundesamt, a
government agency, said in an e-mailed statement. Carbon
dioxide, unlike its main substitute, is also not combustible and
results in no by-products, the agency said.
Vehicle manufacturers are required to lower greenhouse-gas
emissions from air conditioning starting in January and have
chosen to continue using tetrafluoropropene, which becomes
poisonous when burned at high temperatures, Umweltbundesamt
said. The agency already uses a vehicle that is equipped with a
cooling system that uses CO2.
Governments from more than 190 countries are seeking to
limit emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases at ongoing
United Nations climate change talks. The Kyoto Protocol's
emissions limits for industrialized nations expire in 2012.
For Related News and Information:
Top environment stories: GREEN <GO>
News stories about climate change: NI CLIMATE <GO>
Energy markets menu: NRG <GO>
--Editors: Randall Hackley, Todd White
To contact the reporter on this story:
Jeremy van Loon in Berlin at +49-30-70010-6231 or
jvanloon@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at +44-20-7330-7862 or
landberg@bloomberg.net
