Euro zone battles over next gen refigerant
 

France blocks sales of Mercedes models due to the refrigerant they use. MB says the stuff catches fire and refuses to use it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/25/au...france.html?hp

Carbon dioxide is already used as a refrigerant gas for stationary purposes in Japan. It sounds obviously as a better option comparing to R134, and in case of leaks after a crash it might be even better since it could reduce the risk of a fire as pointed out by Mercedes-Benz.

reduce risk of fire? if it were to break open in the right spot, it could extinguish a fire.

Sure. But the risk reduction might be considered too, since the gas enforced by French authorities can increase the risk of a fire.

" The move is generally regarded to have been effective: since the worldwide shift away from fluorocarbons, the ozone hole has not only stopped growing, it has actually contracted."

Looks like they still don't bother to check facts over there.
If you look at pictures of the hole in the 0-zone you cant tell that R-12 has been banned and that levels of R-12 in the upper atmosphere have been dropping for years.

"Although the product is classified slightly flammable by ASHRAE, several years of testing by SAE proved that the product could not be ignited under conditions normally experienced by a vehicle. In addition several independent authorities evaluated the safety of the product in vehicles and some of them concluded that it was as safe to use as R-134a, the product in use in cars today. In the atmosphere, HFO-1234yf degrades to trifluoroacetic acid, which is a mildly phytotoxic strong organic acid with no known degradation mechanism in water. In case of fire it can release highly corrosive and toxic hydrogen fluoride".

Aside from all that good news I say use CO2 so Honeywell wont get filthy rich off a patent created to solve a non problem.