ECOS strengthens draft F-Gas Standardisation Request

With the now successful meeting at Kigali to negotiate an amendment to the Montreal protocol to prevent 0.5 C° of future global warming and eliminate the majority of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), there has been increasing pressure on standards to not obstruct hard-won political achievements. To support this process and the EU Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases (F-Gas) Regulation, the Commission launched a draft Standardisation Request to improve standardisation requirements for the greater use of natural low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants.

ECOS contributed to the finalisation of CEN-CENELEC’s position for the draft F-Gas Standardisation Request, as a member of the CEN-CENELEC ‘Ad Hoc Group Standardisation Request F-Gas’, which met several times to agree a common position. Unfortunately, during discussions within CEN-CENELEC, the European Commission had reduced the ambition of the F-Gas Standardisation Request to solely a Technical Report, which could limit impact of the Request. It is within this context that ECOS successfully supported a review of existing standards to be updated for natural refrigerants, a risk-based approach for determining the charge size of refrigerants, recommendations to improve relevant standards, and a scope expansion to consider future possible technologies.

The final draft of the standardisation request has now been received by the European Commission, and is undergoing Inter-Service Consultation ahead of a final vote by the Member States’ Committee on Standards and future acceptance by CEN and CENELEC.