Fluorinated greenhouse gas mitigation potential and routes in China and globally

Facing the 2035 nationally determined contributions and carbon neutral target, the mitigation potential and cost of fluorinated gases (F-gases), fast-growing greenhouse gases, need to be evaluated. Applying the established DECAF model, this study assessed China's F-gas mitigation potential, as well as its climate and economic impacts. Over 2021-2060, territorial cumulative GWP₁₀₀-weighted F-gas abatement of 42∼50 gigatonnes CO₂-eq (62%-74% reduction) could be achieved in China at the cost of 30∼44 USD/t CO₂-eq, with remaining emissions of 143∼390 Mt CO₂-eq yr^-1 in 2060. Of these, the product use sector with significant banks dominates 63%-67% of the total abatement at the cost below 16 USD/t CO₂-eq. End-of-life management (like recovery) is recommended as a cost-effective measure with high emission reduction potential, while a postponed schedule for F-gas abatement in the electronics industry is proposed due to its high abatement costs. Accelerating HFC reductions and extending abatement actions to cover all F-gases in China could avoid a temperature increase of 0.11-0.18 °C by 2100, rising to 0.23-0.43 °C if scaled globally.