Giving Compass' Take:

• Although China and India pledged to cut their emissions of the pollutant HFC-23, a new study shows that this may not be happening. 

• Emissions of HFC-23 could be eliminated almost entirely with existing, low-cost technology, as previous emission reduction efforts have shown, making it one of the least expensive methods to address climate change. Why are these two countries unable to do so?

• Here are 10 things you didn't know about air pollution in India and an article on trying to hold China accountable for pollution. 

Atmospheric concentrations of a greenhouse gas nearly 13,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide rose faster than ever before over a three-year period starting in 2015, a new study has found. The findings suggest that China and India may not be living up to recent pledges to dramatically reduce emissions of the pollutant.

The gap between the two countries' voluntary pledges to reduce the greenhouse gas—known as HFC-23, a type of hydrofluorocarbon—and the estimates of actual emissions for the pollutant is the equivalent of approximately 103 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, or the annual greenhouse gas emissions of 22 million automobiles, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

HFC-23 is an unwanted byproduct resulting from the manufacturing of HCFC-22, a chemical used in refrigeration and air conditioning. HCFC-22 replaced chlorofluorocarbons, which were phased out beginning in the 1990s for their role in creating the so-called "ozone hole." Since the international ban began, under the Montreal Protocol, atmospheric ozone concentrations have increased, and is expected to lead to the full recovery of the ozone layer sometime in the middle of the century.

Read the full article about Chinese and Indian emission pledges by Phil McKenna at Inside Climate News.