Picking up the pace of the fight for F-gas reform

Throughout the year, EIA campaigners have been hard at work attempting to get the most for the climate out of the ongoing review of the European Union’s F-Gas Regulation

Fluorinated greenhouse gases, or F-gases, are just about everywhere in contemporary life, from industrial and supermarket refrigeration to foams, air-conditioning systems and water coolers. Among them are hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a family of potent greenhouse gases hundreds to thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide.

HFCs currently account for about two per cent of Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions but their use is rising rapidly – by 2050, HFCs could comprise up to 19 per cent of global emissions – and we, along with a coalition of NGOs, have been pushing for a phase-out of HFCs in new equipment by 2020.

With the European Commission shortly due to announce its proposals under the review, EIA recently hosted an event at the European Parliament in Brussels for MEPs, the Commission, Member State representatives, NGOs, the media and businesses to discuss the opportunities for phasing-out the use of climate-changing F-gases.