Euro green seeks total ban on F-gases
The European Parliament’s environmental committee’s rapporteur has called for an outright ban on HFC and HFO refrigerants in most common uses and an even steeper phase down.
In a draft document responding to the F-gas revision proposals, Bas Eickhout, rapporteur for the EU’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), calls for even stricter regulations.
Industry has previously warned that the current F-gas revision proposals present an unrealistic timeline for phase out, risk equipment safety and efficiency, seriously impact the necessary accelerated heat pump roll out and jeopardise the EU’s REPowerEU objectives.
In a document with 113 suggested amendments, Eickhout calls for a number of outright bans on fluorinated gases, which includes HFCs and HFOs.
In addition to an outright ban on fluorinated gases in smaller split air conditioners and split heat pump equipment, Eickhout seeks to limit the use of fluorinated refrigerants with a GWP of under 750 to systems from 12kW to 200kW from January 1 2027. Fluorinated refrigerants would be banned outright from split systems of over 200kW from the same date.
Remaining from the F-gas proposals is the caveat that exceptions can be made when required to meet safety standards. Otherwise, he argues that the recent adoption of standard IEC-60335-2-40, which increases the charge limits on flammable refrigerants, all requirements for split systems up to 12kW can be met with propane. In split systems above 200kW, ammonia and CO2 are available alternatives.
A stricter phase down is also proposed against the F-gas revision document, a phase down which has already been described by industry as unrealistic. Eickhout’s reduced phase down suggestion tracks the revision proposal timetable but, while the revision proposals allow 4,200,133 tonnes of CO2 equivalent from 2048 onwards, Eickhout seeks a ban on all F-gases in 2049.