F L U O R I N A T E D G A S E S
European Commission CC-BY 4.0
Top: Refrigeration Heat pumps Air conditioners E-transmission
Bottom: Insulation foams Aerosol spray Electronics Manufacturing
The title figure above shows the main uses of fluorinated gases.
Fluorinated GHGs underwent a surge in demand when ozone-depleting gases (CFCs) were outlawed in 1989. While they are safe for the ozone layer.....
In 2016, the Kigali Amendment was ratified by 163 states and the EU in which they promised to phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
In 2023, the European Commission published a report on EU progress at limiting F-gases in which it was noted that since 2015, the EU has been very efficient in reducing F-gas emissions. Without the 2014 F-gas Regulation, the high level of emissions of HFCs and other F-gases would have remained high.
The 2014 F-gas Regulation introduced a quota system to phase down the most common F-gases, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), with success. In 2024, only one-third of the 2015 amount of HFCs will be placed on the EU market. In addition to this quota system, the EU has implemented complementary measures to lower the leakage of F-gases, encourage the switch to climate-friendly alternative substances, and stimulate innovation and the development of green technologies.
With the rules established by the new F-gas Regulation, HFCs sold on the EU market should be zero by 2050. This goal serves the EU's objective of achieving climate neutrality by that year.
The EU is also committed to a global agreement to reduce HFC consumption and production, the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. Notably, in 2022, the EU stayed 55% below its limit specified in the agreement.
Whilst this is all most commendable, the progress made by the other 163 states who signed up to the Kigali Amendment on phasing out HFCs is not altogether clear. Moreover, HFCs are only one of four classes of fluorinated GHGs and there is growing concern that in China in recent years, there has been a substantial increase in the emission of some of the most potent fluorinated GHGs.
....they are extremely powerful greenhouse gases some of which have a global warming potential of over 20,000 compared to carbon dioxide’s GWP value of 1.
