Climate and chemicals
Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
Definition
Perfluorocarbons are a family of synthetic greenhouse gases — principally CF₄ and C₂F₆ — composed of carbon and fluorine. They are emitted mainly as by-products of primary aluminium production and in semiconductor and electronics manufacturing. PFCs have global warming potentials thousands of times that of CO₂ and atmospheric lifetimes of up to 50,000 years, making their emissions effectively irreversible.
References
sources, potency and lifetimes
regulatory treatment of fluorinated gases
Overview
What it means
Although emitted in small volumes, PFCs matter because of their extreme potency and persistence. Abatement through process control and alternative chemistries has cut emissions substantially in the aluminium sector, but growth in semiconductor manufacturing keeps them on the mitigation agenda.
How it is used
PFCs are one of the gas groups covered by the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, reported in national inventories and regulated under frameworks such as the EU F-gas Regulation.
Why it matters
PFCs illustrate why climate policy regulates a basket of gases, not just CO₂: small-volume industrial emissions with multi-millennial lifetimes lock in warming for geological timescales.