It belongs to the hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) family of man-made compounds that contribute significantly to both ozone depletion and global warming when released into the environment.

[4] HCFC-142b is used as a refrigerant, as a blowing agent for foam plastics production, and as feedstock to make polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF).

[5] It was introduced to replace the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that were initially undergoing a phase-out per the Montreal Protocol, but HCFCs still have a significant ozone-depletion ability.

HCFC-142b production in non article 5 countries like the United States was banned on January 1, 2020, under the Montreal Protocol.

[11] This is low compared to the ODP=1 of trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11, R-11), which also grew about ten times more abundant in the atmosphere by year 1985 (prior to introduction of HCFC-142b and the Montreal Protocol).