The EU institutions agreed on the world’s most ambitious phase-down on F gas use at a last-minute first reading deal achieved on 16th December 2013. By 2030, the use of F gases will be reduced by 79 % in terms of global warming potential.
Oliver Loebel, Managing Director of PU Europe commented, “The PU industry supports this phase-down which combines high ambition with flexibility regarding technological maturity and cost effectiveness. Restrictive placing-on-the-market prohibitions for certain products in addition to the phase-down would take this flexibility away.”
HFCs are used in certain specialised PU applications where high safety or performance requirements do not allow the use of alternatives. The PU industry is committed to reducing the environmental footprint of those products while maintaining their exceptional insulation performance. Extensive test programmes are underway and will result in new insulation products in line with the goals of the F Gas Regulation.
“We are grateful that the EU legislator offered our industry sufficient time to develop low global warming potential solutions and support smaller manufacturers in the transition process”, Loebel concluded.