IOR fears F-gas impact on skills, training and safety
17th December 2025
UK: The Institute of Refrigeration warns that DEFRA’s proposed new F-gas phase down timetable could have a significant impact on skills, competence, training, compliance, and safety.
It maintains that these issues are not addressed in DEFRA’s proposals and consultation, and that without regulatory intervention they pose a material risk to both industry capability and safe deployment of lower-GWP refrigerants.
DEFRA proposes changing the HFC phase-down in the GB F-gas regulation by adjusting the existing schedule from 2027 and adding further steps from 2030 until 2050. It would reduce the HFC quota in England, Scotland and Wales by 46.1 million tonnes of CO2e from 2027-2050.
The IOR expresses concerns that unlike the EU F-gas revision, which introduces a structured, mandatory training matrix for technicians covering low-GWP refrigerants, the UK currently has no such training or certification requirements for these flammable, high-pressure or toxic refrigerants. The IOR also sees a lack of a national training matrix defining minimum competence standards and a significant inconsistency in training provision and assessment.
It maintains that the awarding bodies, like C&G, deliver qualifications that are out of date, incomplete, and not aligned with the refrigerant transition.
“The lack of a mandated competence framework puts the UK at a disadvantage and is likely to create a skills deficit precisely when competence will matter most,” the IOR says.
The IOR supports the adoption of an approach aligning with EU practice: “Without similar measures, the transition risks creating gaps in safety, compliance, skills, innovation, and overall industry confidence. Establishing defined training and competence standards should therefore be developed alongside the phase down.”
Aligning itself with FETA, the IOR also expresses concern of the low level of awareness of the consultation among micro and small contractors. Many of these, the IOR maintains, may be disproportionately affected by the proposed phase down.
