Due to the high energy of C&minus;F bonds, hexafluoroethane is nearly inert and thus acts as an extremely stable greenhouse gas, with an atmospheric lifetime of 10,000 years (other sources: 500 years).  It has a global warming potential (GWP) of 9200 and an ozone depletion potential (ODP) of 0.  Hexafluoroethane is included in the IPCC list of greenhouse gases.
Hexafluoroethane did not exist in significant amounts in the environment prior to industrial-scale manufacturing. Atmospheric concentration of hexafluoroethane reached 3 pptv at the start of the 21st century.  Its absorption bands in the infrared part of the spectrum cause a radiative forcing of about 0.001 W/m.