Regulation (EU) 2024/573 on fluorinated greenhouse gases

What it is

to review the current fluorinated greenhouse gas (F-gas) Regulation with a view to further cutting emissions of these potent greenhouse gases. PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council. BACKGROUND: fluorinated greenhouse gases are human-made chemicals that are very strong greenhouse gases (GHG), often several thousand times stronger than carbon dioxide (CO2). Together with CO2, methane and nitrous oxide, they belong to the group of GHG emissions covered by the Paris Agreement. The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety adopted the report by Bas EICKHOUT (Greens/EFA, NL) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on fluorinated greenhouse gases, amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 . The committee responsible recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the proposal as follows: The report stressed that the shift towards the use of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) alternatives will lead to cost savings for undertakings as a result of avoided HFC quota purchase and will spur green innovation and employment. Member States should however ensure a fair and just transition. To accelerate innovation in, and the development of, more climate-friendly solutions and to provide certainty for consumers and investors, Members wish to strengthen new requirements proposed by the Commission that prohibit the placing on the single market of products containing F-gases (Annex IV). The text adds prohibitions on the use of F-gases for sectors where it is technologically and economically feasible to switch to alternatives that do not use F-gases, such as refrigeration, air conditioning, heat pumps and electrical switchgear. According to the report, f rom 1 January 2024 , the following uses sh ould be prohibited: (a) the servicing or maintenance of stationary refrigeration equipment, with the exclusion of chillers, by fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I, with a global warming potential of 150 or more; (b) the servicing or maintenance of air conditioning and heat pump equipment, mobile refrigeration equipment and chillers by fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I, with a global warming potential of 2 500 or more. This measure should not apply to military equipment or equipment intended for applications designed to cool medicinal products to temperatures below - 50 °C or equipment intended for applications designed to cool nuclear power stations. With a view to achieving a zero HFCs target by 2050 (Annex VII), Members introduced a steeper trajectory from 2039 onwards to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) placed on the EU market. The report suggested that competent authorities of Member States sh ould carry out checks to establish whether undertakings comply with their obligations under this Regulation. These checks should include on-site visits of establishments with the…

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