VATIS UPDATE Article

According to a new report published by the European Environment Agency (EEA), the production, import and export of fluorinated-gases (F-gases) continued to decline in the European Union. F-gases, which are mainly used in cooling and heating equipment, have a high global warming potential and their phase-down is therefore essential to global efforts to mitigate climate change.

F-gases were in many cases introduced to replace chemicals that were found to be harming the ozone layer. Currently, F-gases are mainly used in refrigerators, heat pumps and air-conditioning equipment in buildings and in cars. The EEA report ‘Fluorinated greenhouse gases 2015’ tracks progress towards the EU target of reducing F-gas emissions by two thirds by 2030, compared to 2010 levels.

According to the report, the production, imports, exports and supply of F-gases in the EU decreased in 2015, both in physical amounts as well as in amounts weighted by the global warming potential of the gas in question, measured in CO2-equivalent tonnes (CO2-eq.). The F-gas share of the global warming potential of the EU’s overall greenhouse gas emissions was 3% in 2014, but this share has been on the increase.