F-gas vote a “missed opportunity”
2nd April 2023
FRANCE: The French association representing refrigerant distributors, filling, recovery and reclamation companies has described last week’s F-gas vote as a “missed opportunity” to achieve Europe’s net-zero targets.
In a statement the day after Thursday’s F-gas revision vote, Paris-based ADC3R regretted that the vast majority of the amendments proposed to the vote of the F-gas review were rejected.
Laurent Guégan, chairman of Paris-based ADC3R, said: ”We are distressed by the outcome of the European Parliament’s vote on an unrealistic, unproductive F-Gas review text that is antinomic to European climate objectives as well as capacity and technology.
“This text will not only threaten REpowerEU’s objectives by limiting the deployment of heat pumps, but it creates a programmed obsolescence of existing refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment that will unnecessarily affect all sectors, especially the residential, SME and small retail sectors, such as bars, restaurants, butchers, bakers, etc,” he added.
“At a moment when Europe is putting in place a binding legislative framework on repairability and availability of spare parts to avoid the replacement of equipment, the European Parliament is voting an opposite text which goes against the objectives of the circular economy.”
He also regretted that the proposals did not take into account the need for technician training in a sector “already short of manpower” and which “jeopardizes the safety and energy efficiency” of some equipment.
“We hope that the Council and the Member States will take advantage of the trialogue to find the right balance and return to a pragmatic text by not relying on the wrong assumptions made so far,” the statement adds.
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