The European Union (EU) Parliament has passed the new F-Gas regulations with an overwhelming majority.
The plenary session of the European Parliament passed the regulations by 644 votes making the phasedown of HFCs and future bans on use of the refrigerants in new equipment a reality.
The final stage is a formal endorsement from the Council of the European Union.
European Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard tweeted: “I welcome the ‘beginning of the end’ for super-warming greenhouse gases.”
The timeframe for the new rules is extremely tight with the first deadline commencing on January 2015.
The European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) Secretary General Thomas Nowak, said the new framework will trigger the phasing in of alternative refrigerants and kick-off more research and development.
Head of the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) Clare Perry, said this move should be a catalyst for future international negotiations in pursuit of a global deal to address HFCs.
Alongside the cap and phase-down, the EU has now agreed to ban the use of HFCs in new equipment in a number of sectors, most notably in commercial refrigeration by 2022.
In addition, from 2020 very high global warming potential HFCs with GWPs above 2500 will no longer be used to service and maintain refrigeration equipment.
