Protecting the Ozone

We got rid of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) years ago because they were proven to be eating a hole in the ozone layer of the atmosphere. Now we have to get rid of HYDROchlorofluoro- carbons, or HCFC-22, which were never banned for use by developing countries. China, the largest manufacturer of air conditioning units in the world, still uses HCFC-22 as a refrigerant. Most air-conditioning systems in the United States also use HCFC-22. According to a New York Times article, the US has joined Argentina, Brazil, Iceland, Mauritania and Norway in saying that they want to speed up a phaseout of HCFCs at an international conference in Montreal scheduled for September.
The article mentions that a report last week by five US and European scientists found that sharp cutbacks in gases that reduce ozone since 1987 have been far more effective in fighting global warming than the Kyoto Protocol. Particle for particle, CFCs are far more damaging to the atmosphere than CO2, but there is vastly more CO2 in the atmosphere.
Currently, developing countries are allowed to continue to increase use of HCFCs until 2016, then continue that level until 2040, at which time all use of HCFCs will be banned. The EU discontinued use of HCFC in 2004 and the US will stop using it in 2010.