ShareHFC regulation in Europe and the United States
At the beginning of October, a provisional agreement was reached to update the F-Gas regulation in Europe, and the United States announced measures limiting the GWP of refrigerants used in several types of air conditioning and food refrigeration equipment.
Europe: F-Gas regulation
On Wednesday 4 October, the European Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement to further reduce fluorinated gas emissions, in line with EU’s climate targets.
The agreement calls for HFC consumption to be completely phased out by 2050 and for production to be phased down to 15% as of 2036.
The agreement also provides milestone dates for phasing out the use of fluorinated gases in sectors where it is technically and economically feasible to move to alternatives that do not use fluorinated gases, such as domestic refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps.
On October 18, 2023, the Council’s Committee of Permanent Representatives endorsed the final compromise textwith a view to agreement and sent it to the Chair of the Parliament’s Environment Committee. The text was approved by this committee on October 25. It will then need to be formally adopted by both institutions, before it can be published in the EU’s Official Journal and enter into force, probably in spring 2024.
For more details, see the IIR news of 10/16/2023.
United States: AIM final rule
On 5 October, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new rule under the AIM (American Innovation and Manufacturing Act).
The AIM allows the Environmental Protection Agency to legislate on the issue of HFCs.
This latest rule aims to prohibit the manufacture and import of products using high GWP HFC refrigerants. The first restrictions will begin on 1 January 2025, the last on 1 January 2028.
Air conditioning equipment or heat pumps may use refrigerants with a GWP of 700 or less. Most other equipment will be limited to using refrigerants with a GWP below 300 or 150.
The list of all affected applications is available in the document provided by the EPA.
[Last update: October 26, 2023]