Ending the Reign of Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases

The world’s first phase-out of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) under the EU F-Gas Regulation

Fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) are fluorine-containing synthetic compounds with high Global Warming Potentials (GWP). They are the fastest growing group of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and have been regulated in the European Union (EU) since 2006.

The central measure of the current EU F-Gas Regulation is a phase-down in the consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are used primarily as refrigerants in the cooling sector but also as foam-blowing agents, in aerosols and in fire-fighting equipment.

In April 2022, the European Commission proposed revisions to the EU F-Gas Regulation to accelerate the HFC phase-down and adopt additional measures to reduce emissions of HFCs and other F-gases. In October 2023, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU reached provisional agreement on a final set of revisions that, when adopted in the coming months, will significantly strengthen the EU F-Gas Regulation and reflect world leading legislation to reduce climate-damaging emissions of F-gases.