Latest regulatory news: REACH regulation, HFC tax in France and adoption of the Kigali Amendment in the United States.

REACH 

 

The European REACH* regulation entered into force in the European Union in 2007. An update project has been underway for several months. Initially planned for the end of 2022, it was first  postponed to the spring of 2023 and then, more recently, to the end of 2023. This project would involve restrictions on the manufacture, placing on the market and use of Per – and Polyfluoroalkyls substances (PFAS), which represent a group of 4700 chemicals. Several refrigerants are part of the PFAS:

• Among HFCs: R32, R134a, R125, R143a and R152a
• Among HFOs: R1234yf, R1234ze(E) and R1233zd(E) 

With this new postponement, the reform, if completed, would only come into force after the next European elections in 2024. This timing could have an impact on the actual updating of the regulation.

HFC tax in France

 

Since 2019, a proposed tax on HFCs has been regularly pushed back during France's annual budget discussions. The finance bill adopted on October 19 now provides for the HFC tax to come into force on January 1, 2025.  See the amendment (in French).
 

HFC regulations in the US 

The United States officially ratified the Kigali Amendment on October 31, following Senate approval on September 21, 2022. 
On October 20, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) proposed a 40% reduction in the production and consumption of HFCs from historical levels, starting in 2024.
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* Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals