Semiconductor Industry PFC Emissions Estimating and Reduction: Status and Future Directions

Worth, Walter; Beu, PE, Laurie
(International Sematech;Laurie Beu Consulting)

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The Kyoto Protocol will come into force on February 16, 2005 following Russia’s official ratification on November 18, 2004. The Protocol requires that Annex I signatories such as the European Union, Japan, and Canada reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) and perfluorocarbons. The Protocol also calls for the establishment of an emissions trading system and entities such as the United Kingdom (UK), Chicago Climate Exchange and European Union (EU) have proactively established greenhouse gas (GHG) trading systems. While the United States has chosen not to ratify the Protocol, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has initiated the Climate Leaders Partnership to encourage companies to develop long-term climate change strategies and to commit to reduce GHG emissions. Members of the semiconductor industry world-wide have committed to tracking and reducing absolute emissions of perfluorocompounds (PFC), HFC and SF6 via Memoranda of Agreement (MOA) or Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) at the World Semiconductor Council. As part of the second MOU between the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and the U.S. EPA, the MOU partners agreed to publish a report by December 15, 2005 “detailing the progress that has been made toward achieving the Partnership Goal” of reducing the absolute PFC emissions by 10% (on an MMTCE basis) below the 1995 baseline by 2010. In 2005, the semiconductor industry will develop a State-of-the-Technology report to summarize the status of the various technology options, changes in the PFC use and the progress, globally, to meet the 2010 goal. This presentation will review the status of efforts requiring GHG emissions estimating and reporting, provide an overview of changes to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Guidance as it applies to the semiconductor and electronics industry, and provide a preliminary update of global semiconductor industry PFC activities and the commercial readiness of reduced emission technology options.

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