The European Parliament’s Committee on Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection (ENVI) adopted, on Wednesday 1 March, by 64 votes to 8 with 7 abstentions, its position on the revision of the EU regulation on fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases).
The text, championed by Dutch MEP Bas Eickhout (Greens/EFA), significantly strengthens the proposals adopted on 5 April 2022 by the European Commission (see EUROPE 12926/3), by speeding up the phase-out of fluorinated gases which are used in chemical processes in many types of products and equipment and which have a global warming potential up to 25,000 times that of carbon dioxide.
In order to consolidate the EU’s actions towards climate neutrality by 2050, the report accelerates the timetable from 2039 to drastically reduce the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) - accounting for 90% of F-gas emissions - to 0% emissions by 2050. This is an ambitious measure compared to the Commission’s proposal, which announced a gradual reduction in production levels. Speaking on this point after the vote, Bas Eickhout was firm: “We want to be climate neutral by 2050, that means that F-gases should be eradicated”.
In addition, MEPs propose bans on the use of F-gases in sectors where it has been shown to be technologically and economically feasible to do without them. These include refrigeration, air conditioning, heat pumps and electrical equipment. On heat pumps, however, the Commission was asked to ensure that the reduction of HFCs does not hamper their deployment under RePowerEU. “It was therefore important for the EPP (European People’s Party) to make sure that the much needed heat pump run-up (...) is not endangered. We have therefore added an emergency break”, commented the shadow rapporteur, Stelios Kympouropoulos (EPP, Greek). In addition, the text provides for the fight against illegal trade in fluorinated gases to avoid trading with third countries that are less prepared for their end-of-life management or whose legislation is flexible in this area.
While the main aim of these proposals is to help the EU meet its climate targets, it is also to ensure compliance with the Kigali Amendment to reduce hydrofluorocarbons.
The report will be presented at the plenary session on 29 and 30 March. In the meantime, the rapporteur, Bas Eickhout, who welcomed the vote on a report adopted by “a very clear majority”, said that he was “very happy”. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)