European Environment Agency says F-Gas targets remain on track

December 09, 2021

Briefing report concludes that a slight increase in demand for HFC products in 2020 over previous years has not undermined progress to help shift cooling sector to lower GWP products.

2020 saw a slight increase in the supply of fluorinated gas products to the EU after a continuous fall between 2015 and 2019, according to new figures from the European Environment Agency.

The findings stated that refrigeration and air conditioning equipment were the key drivers for an increase in demand, with targets set out under EU and UK regulation still on target to phase down use of refrigerant products with a higher global warming potential (GWP).

Among other main findings of the 2021 briefing document was that the overall consumption of HFC products continued to decline in line with targets set out via the F-Gas regulations and the Kigali Amendment of the Montreal Protocol. The amendment that will supersede the requirements of current European regulations from the mid-2030s.

HFC consumption was up by seven per cent compared to the same period in 2019, the findings stated. However, total EU HFC consumption was 52 per cent under the maximum limits imposed under the Kigali Amendment requirements.

The European Environment Agency stated that the placing of HFCs on the EU market was ultimately 4 per cent below the market quota limits set for 2020, showing that the regulation’s main targets were being met in a bid to try and push the cooling industry to alternative refrigerants.

Another conclusion of the findings was that there has been an increase the in reserve HFC quota available to cover imports of refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment.

This reserve was currently estimated to be seven times the amount of equipment imported over the course of 2020 or 111 per cent of the EU’s maximum HFC allowance for 2021, according to the findings.

The agency stated, “The companies that did not fully use their quota counterbalanced the few cases of quota exceedance by importers of bulk HFCs and equipment importers.”

“While the demand for refrigerants remains high, there has been a shift to alternatives with lower global warming potential (GWP).”

Black-market fears

An ongoing industry concern across the UK and EU around F-Gas compliance has been the level of black-market activity for refrigerant. A number of industry bodies have warned this market, which is difficult to formally measure, risks undermining efforts to set stricter quotas to gradually limit HFC use in Europe and the UK for refrigeration, heat pumps and air conditioning systems.

The environment agency briefing said that it was aware of ongoing allegations of significant illegal imports of HFCs. However, the report’s authors concluded that they could not quantitively account for the scale of black-market demand.

It stated, “A European Commission study concludes that it is not possible to quantify customs evasion and that the HFC phase-down continues to be successful in promoting innovation and a shift towards climate-friendly solutions, particularly as gas prices in the EU remain significantly higher than on the world market.”

Campaigns groups and industry bodies such as the European FluoroCarbons Technical Committee have urged the EU to implement much stricter enforcement measures as part of an ongoing review of the F-Gas regulations.