Canada demands HFC reporting

CANADA: A supporter of calls for a worldwide phase-down of HFCs, Canada’s Minister of the Environment has imposed reporting requirements on HFC refrigerant manufacturers and suppliers.

The mandatory notice has been issued under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, as a means of assessing whether to control, or the manner in which to control, HFCs.

The notice imposes reporting requirements on those who imported, exported, or manufactured over 100kg of HFC in any calendar year from 2008 to 2012. The deadline for the information is August 19.

Since 2009, Canada, in collaboration with the United States and Mexico, has been promoting the control of HFCs under the Montreal Protocol by co-sponsoring a proposal to amend the Protocol to incorporate a phase-down of HFCs in both developed and developing countries.

While the proposal has not yet been accepted, the Canadian government wants to clearly define current applications and quantities of HFCs in Canada in order to decide its position on potential control strategies.