California Revealed as Worst US Emitter of Sulfuryl Fluoride

The referenced article can be found here:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-024-01294-x

The linked article doesn't do a good job explaining the context or why this particular greenhouse gas matters.

> Significance and policy relevance

> California’s SO2F2 emissions provide a case study on how greenhouse gas emissions that are unaccounted for in emissions inventories can potentially offset progress made towards emissions reductions. In 2006, California passed AB-32, the Global Warming Solutions Act, which charged the California Air Resources Board (CARB) with monitoring and regulating statewide emissions sources of GHGs, and set a target of reducing statewide GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. However, since the long atmospheric lifetime of SO2F2 was not discovered until 2009, SO2F2 was not included in AB-32. California renewed its commitment to emissions reductions in 2016 by passing SB-32, which expanded upon AB-32 and set a statewide GHG emissions reduction target of 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. Although CARB classified SO2F2 as a short-lived climate pollutant (SLCP) in 2016, it has yet to add the gas to the state’s annual GHG emissions inventory or its latest Climate Change Scoping Plan

So this gas was recently discovered to be harmful, but the legal framework for tracking emissions hasn't yet been updated to include it.

> From 2007-2019, California reports an average of 4.8 Tg CO2 equivalents (CO2e) yr−1 in statewide GHG emissions reductions under AB-32. (1 Tg = 1 million metric tons (MMT)). Notably, these emissions reductions slowed and plateaued to an average of 2.25 Tg CO2e yr−1 from 2010-2015. Our inverse model results imply an annual mean SO2F2 emissions rate of 0.7–1.7 Tg CO2e yr−1 (100-yr GWP) or 1.2–2.7 Tg CO2e yr−1 (20-yr GWP) for 2015-2017.

The cited greenhouse gas inventory can be found here: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/classic/cc/invent...

In 2000, emissions were estimated at 460 million tonnes CO2e. In 2020, 360 million tonnes CO2e.

So sulfyryl fluoride emissions could account for approximately 1% of overall greenhouse gas emissions in California.

What’s the solution here?

We need to stop building houses out of wood. Every wood structure in Southern California has known termites or has them and it just isn’t known. It’s not just the foundations of structures either, drywood termites swarm yearly and cause just as much damage as any subterranean termites.

Personally, I’d rather not be treating my home with the termite fumigation chems unless I have to and have been diligent at creating a defensive barrier (6 inches) around my home and keep a tight watch over the entire structure all year. During the summer, when the drywood termites swarm, I pickup thousands in my pool and remain extra diligent.

I’d much rather just have most of the structure be adobe some other cementitious material than play a losing game of three little piggies every so many years.

It would be nice to see how California compares in terms of emissions per resident. It's unclear why it would be much different from some neighboring states with smaller populations.

The tldr

> The researchers put 85 percent of California's sulfuryl fluoride emissions to structural fumigation practices to get rid of pests, such as termites. This is done by sealing structure inside an airtight tent and pumping the pesticide inside.