U.S. Says GHG Emissions to Rise 4 Percent Through 2020

The U.S., in its first climate report in four years to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, said its GHG emissions were expected to grow by 4 percent through 2020, in part due to growth in the use of hydrofluorocarbons, the Associated Press reported. The State Department wrote in the report: "A large portion of emissions growth is driven by HFCs, which are projected to more than double between 2005 and 2020, as they are more extensively used as a substitute for ozone-depleting substances."

Samuel LaBudde, atmospheric campaign director for the Environmental Investigation Agency, was quoted as saying: "Unless they are eliminated, HFCs and fluorinated gases will sabotage efforts to combat global warming. We could and should use the Montreal Protocol to phase them out."

The report said the U.S. would contribute "its share to developed country financing approaching $30 billion for 2010-2012," in keeping with the deal President Obama negotiated with China and other developing countries at the December climate summit in Copenhagen. The Obama administration's budget would provide more than $2 billion for climate research, said the report.