GEN – 1425.00. On 06 October 2022, the European Parliament’s Committee for Industry, Transport, Research and Energy (ITRE) published its draft opinion on the Revision of the F-Gas Regulation.

Preamble

On 06 October 2022, the European Parliament’s Committee for Industry, Transport, Research and Energy (ITRE) published its draft opinion on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on fluorinated greenhouse gases, amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 (COM(2022)0150 – C9-0142/2022 – 2022/0099(COD)), and also proposed its draft amendments. The appointed Rapporteur for opinion is the MEP Sara Skyttedal.

Short Justification

The Rapporteur supports many elements in the Commission proposal, especially regarding the enhanced implementation and enforcement on matters of illegal trade, the training needs on F-Gas alternatives, the monitoring and reporting to fill existing gaps and improve processes and data quality for compliance and clarity, as well as internal coherence to support better implementation and understanding of the rules. Training and certification for sustainable alternatives is important.

The Rapporteur believes that the F-Gas Regulation is a key instrument with respect to emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-Gases) and that the 2014 F-Gas Regulation has proven to be successful. The Rapporteur also believes that more should be done to prevent additional F-Gas emissions, thereby contributing to EU climate objectives, and that compliance with the Montreal Protocol as regards obligations related to hydrofluorocarbons (‘HFCs’) should be ensured.

However, the Rapporteur is of the opinion that certain provisions of the Commission’s proposal could potentially jeopardise the clean energy transformation in heating and cooling. Furthermore, it could jeopardise the achievement of EU energy independence, creating an additional burden to the European industry as well as to European consumers who wish to switch towards sustainable and efficient heating and cooling solutions. Therefore, the Rapporteur proposes amendments to ensure the availability of a full and diverse range of refrigerants for heating and cooling installations, in line with the REPower EU’s ambition to frontload the deployment of heat pumps by 2030, as well as the Energy Efficiency Directive and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. The Rapporteur also proposes to extend the ban date for 12 to 24 kV (12 kV excluded) voltage level switchgear from 2026 to 2028, as there are concerns that manufacturers will not be able to supply enough SF6-free switchgear by 2026 on this specific voltage level.

Furthermore, the Rapporteur wants to achieve a better balance between phasing down F-Gases and considerations of patient health. F-Gases are widely used as propellants in metered dose inhaler (MDIs). The Rapporteur therefore reinstates the long-standing exemption for MDIs under the F-Gas regulation, which is deleted in the Commission proposal.

Next Steps

The ITRE Committee will hold a debate on the draft opinion on 26 October and amendments can be submitted until 27 October.

Related documents and links

All related documents and articles can be found in the respective sections in the right sidebar.

• GEN – 1425.01 – ITRE-PA-737218_EN
• GEN – 1418.01 – Excerpt Price monitoring Q2 2022
• GEN – 1363.00 – Development HFC prices Q4-2021
• GEN – 1273.00 – Development HFC prices Q1-2021
• GEN – 1197.00 – Development of HFC prices Q3-2020
• GEN – 1194.00 – Report from the European Commission on the availability of HFCs
• GEN – 1173.00 – F-Gas quota and reporting, Ozone Depleting Substances
• GEN – 1163.00 – Development of HFC Prices
• GEN – 1160.00 – F-Gas review consultation
• GEN – 1120.00 – Development of HFC prices Q1-2020
• GEN – 1083.00 – Development of HFC prices Q3-2019
• GEN – 1064.00 – Development of HFC prices Q2-2019
• GEN – 1057.00 – Price evolutions refrigerants and French carbon tax
• GEN – 1043.00 – Development of HFC prices
• GEN – 969.00 – F-Gas industry roundtable
• GEN – 958.00 – F-Gas recent publications
• GEN – 896.00 – Öko-Recherche – Monitoring survey on refrigerant prices
• GEN – 890.00 – F-Gas Regulation Consultation Forum 6 March 2018