EFCTC welcomes the publication of the combined evaluation roadmap/Inception Impact Assessment to revise the F-gas Regulation

EFCTC welcomes the publication on 30th June 2020 by the European Commission of the “Combined Evaluation Roadmap/Inception Impact Assessment” (Ref. Ares(2020)3402178 – 29/06/2020) to inform and enable stakeholders as part of the review of the EU rules on fluorinated greenhouse gases (Regulation (EU) No 517/2014). EFCTC supports the F-gas Regulation and believes that it is a successful regulation to promote the transition from higher-GWP products to lower-GWP alternatives and ultimately reduce EU emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases.

“It is important to review the state of implementation of the current Regulation,” stated Dr Nick Campbell, Chairman of EFCTC, “We believe that one of the critical topics that the review must concentrate on is the enforcement of the Regulation. There is evidence of large quantities of illegally imported HFCs entering the European Union and this must be addressed during the review by the addition of measures aimed at improved monitoring and reporting, in particular a strengthening of the regulation with respect to transit procedures, plus the harmonization across EU Member States of effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for offenders.

Industry has invested heavily in the transition to lower-GWP solutions and the F-gas Regulation has outlined a stable and predictable path to achieve the climate objectives through to 2030 based upon sound environmental and economic considerations.

Whilst it is essential that the current status of the transition and the availability of alternatives are evaluated,” noted Dr Campbell, “the review of the Regulation must take into account and must not disrupt the ongoing investments that industry are undertaking to enable the European market to achieve compliance with the regulation. EFCTC looks forward to working with the European Commission, Member States, the European Parliament and all stakeholders to enable a comprehensive review of the F-gas Regulation in light of the objectives of the European Green Deal, the obligations under the Kigali Amendment and the technical progress already made under the current F-Gas Regulation.

PRESS RELEASE

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