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The European Commission has recently published its report on the proposed F-Gas revisions, and has given everyone the chance to air their views by filling in a questionnaire on what they think and what changes they would like to see to this regulation.
The Commission's preliminary report ( accessible here) highlights the fact that implementation of the regulation is not always effective or rigorous in different countries and applications. The report considers a range of options that would change how the regulation works.
The objective of international discussions has been to impose a worldwide phase down on the usage of HFCs, within the framework of the Montreal Protocol. This would entail a gradual 10-15% reduction in CO2 equivalent on the market compared to current levels, to be achieved by 2040 or 2050.
One option would be for Europe to pre-empt the introduction of such a measure by implementing its own identical Europe-wide phase down, along with other measures such as tightening restrictions on containment or the certification of personnel, bans on the use of HFCs in certain applications, and/or many other possibilities.
Therefore, it is very important that we all take the chance to express our views on the legitimacy of these measures, and voice your opinions of the advantages and disadvantages of any future decisions.
The questionnaire can be answered by any individual or company, and takes just ten minutes to complete.
AFCE, ACRIB & FETA, who will answer the questionnaire shortly, asks that all stakeholders in the refrigeration and air-conditioning industry do likewise. You will be able to refer to the answers and arguments of AFCE.
The future of technology and fluids currently used by the refrigeration and air-conditioning industry is at stake. Any changes that are introduced must be done so with enough time for our stakeholders to adapt. Any rash or drastic decisions would in fact have the opposite effect to that desired by environmentalists, skilled as they are, in forcing reductions in HFC usage without any real consideration for the needs of our modern society (with regard to health, comfort, the cold chain, etc.).
The questionnaires must be completed on-line by 19 December 2011 at the latest, which is the end of the consultation period.
Source: www.afce.asso.fr