I am often reminded how similar the discussion around global warming and the one around CFCs were. There was much shouting about destroying the economy, and how the cold chain was a remarkable invention that ensured we did not die from food poisoning and did we really want to go back to medieval times? Maybe sell ice from a lake?

Sure there are alternatives but they are both expensive and with sub par performance. We need to have alternatives that both cheaper and better before we can do anything?

But no, rich countries showed that they could actually get together and ban harmful chemicals, and by sheer economic force alone turn the whole world around. Research was let loose when there was economic incentives, mass production effects set in and over time the expensive and bad alternatives was cheap and good enough.