F-gas regulation to be voted on by European Parliament: four key points at stake
By In April 2022, the European Commission presented its proposal for a revised Regulation on Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases (F-gas Regulation). The proposal has since been processed by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. The ENVI committee has put forward its cross-party compromise amendments, and on 30 March the European Parliament will adopt its position in plenary.
These are the main points at stake:
Ambitious new equipment prohibitions for heat pumps and air conditioning. Heat pumps are needed for the decarbonisation of heating. But this transition should not result in a lock-in of tens of millions of heat pumps containing climate detrimental F-gases when alternatives exist. Equipment bans in the F-gas regulation are crucial to preventing this. EU manufacturers – many of which are SMEs – lead in F-gas free heat pump technology. Bans will provide them with regulatory certainty and a growing market.
Protecting the HFC phase-down. Some stakeholders have questioned the F-gas phase-down due to concerns over heat pumps. However, weakening the phase-down is unnecessary, as well as a blunt measure to support heat pumps, since the quota-system is economy-wide. Before presenting the proposal, the Commission also carefully assessed the F-gas phase-down’s impact on the increased heat pump deployment to ensure the two objectives were aligned. In the ENVI compromise proposal, the heat pump interest is further safeguarded through a specific annual heat pump assessment and exemption clause.
Health and environment concerns over PFAS. Many of the F-gases with a relatively low climate impact are instead ’forever chemicals’ from the group called PFAS. Though their climate impact is low, they are cause for concern over human health and environmental pollution. ENVI’s amendments include bans on F-gas in sectors where cost effective, energy efficient natural-refrigerant alternatives are available. These bans could quickly steer the market towards alternative natural refrigerants, whose use has been further facilitated by recent changes in safety standards.
PFAS-free green energy switchgear transition. SF6 is an F-gas used in electricity grids. It is also subject to phase-out because of its shocking global warming impact of 25,000 CO2eq. As with heat pumps, it is important that SF6 is replaced with future-proof alternatives. The ENVI committee’s proposed amendments, which ban switchgear, ensure this transition without turning to PFAS.
Read our full co-signed briefing note ahead of the plenary vote here.
