alt Hacker NewsYes, that dangerous effect is indexed as GWP - global warming potential.
CO2 has a GWP of 1 in this context, while other refrigerants are worse - for example, R32 has a GWP of 675 (so 675x worse if it escapes), not sure about R290 (Propane), which I believe is either about 40 or 14…
Regarding EoL: At least around here, household appliances such as fridges are brought to a recycling yard and are properly taken care of in that regard… and as for heatpumps - those are only to be installed by certified professionals, for this very reason.
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R32 is on the safe side of common refrigerants. R410 just started its phase out in the US and carries a GWP of >2000.
The global warming potential of hydrocarbons as such is generally overblown, since they oxidize into CO₂ in the atmosphere with a half-life of a decade or two.
Per the latest IPCC report, GWP of propane is estimated to be 0.02, previously it was estimated to be around 3.