Study backs more ambitious F-gas regulation
17th November 2020
BELGIUM: Natural refrigerant group Shecco insists that the EU’s cooling industry supports a more ambitious F-gas regulation, with more bans and an accelerated phase down.
The online study, F-Gas Regulation Revision: Industry Wants More Ambition, launched by Shecco in June also revealed a greater readiness to switch to natural refrigerants.
The report dives into the details of the current F-gas regulation to highlight how it can be strengthened to close loopholes to the advantage of the industry, the economy, and the climate as a whole. To that end, it covers topics such as training, incentive schemes, illegal trade and reclamation.
The study found that 87% of participants believe that increasing the ambition of the F-gas regulation through further bans, a more ambitious phase down, and strong measures to combat illegal trade should be an essential component of the EU’s 2030 climate ambition strategy.
In addition, 77% of respondents were in favour of an accelerated phase-down schedule, given the current state of development of natural-refrigerant alternative technologies.
The study also showed overwhelming support for more ambitious sectoral bans for sub-sectors already mentioned in the F-Gas Regulation, as well as for the introduction of bans for sub-sectors previously not included.
Open to the entire industry, not just companies working with natural refrigerants, the survey attracted responses from 125 individuals at more than 80 companies active in the EU. Input was collected predominantly from personal correspondence with stakeholders, as well as a comprehensive industry survey that featured more than 160 questions.
“The findings were overwhelmingly positive, showing a large number of companies are ready to push forward on stricter sectoral bans to make up for the time lost by not being ambitious enough in the previous F-gas regulation revision,” said Ilana Koegelenberg, Shecco’s market development manager. “We hope that these results will give confidence to the European Commission that the European HVAC&R industry is ambitious and wants further progress in this direction to help play an active role in making Europe climate neutral by 2050.”
