Germany emits more of most potent greenhouse gas in 2014

BERLIN (Reuters) - German emissions of sulfur hexafluoride, the most potent of all greenhouse gases, rose 13 percent last year compared with 2013 levels, according to data from the federal statistics office published on Wednesday. Sulfur hexafluoride emissions increased by 104 tonnes to 916 tonnes in total last year, but were still 16 percent lower than 2012, the statistics office said. The most potent of all greenhouse gases, sulfur hexafluoride has a global warming effect some 22,800 times that of carbon dioxide (CO2) when compared over a 100-year period. It is mainly produced in industrial processes, such as the production of electronics and apparatus. Sulfur hexafluoride is one of the six greenhouse gases, with CO2 the most important pollutant. They are also called Kyoto gases, as they were defined in the climate pact struck in that Japanese city. While sulfur hexafluoride emissions rose last year, the environment ministry said in March that greenhouse gas emissions dropped by 4.3 percent year-on-year to 912 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2014. (Reporting by Caroline Copley; Editing by Mark Potter)