EU agreed to reduce emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases

A political agreement was reached in the EU Council to reduce emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases. Fluorinated gases are extremely powerful and long-lived greenhouse gases used in refrigeration, air conditioning, fire-fighting and various industry processes. The reduction of their emissions is a requirement under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and will help the EU and its Member States meet their Kyoto emission targets and reduce emissions further after 2012. The legislation agreed includes a directive dealing with fluorinated gases used in air conditioning systems in vehicles, and a regulation tackling stationary applications.
The fluorinated gases (F-gases) covered are hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). By volume, F-gases currently account for 2% of total EU greenhouse gas emissions. However, their global warming potential is high and many of them have long atmospheric lifetimes. For example, SF6 has a global warming potential that is 23,900 times that of carbon dioxide (CO2), which is the most common greenhouse gas. If no measures were taken, the Commission estimates that emissions of fluorinated gases would increase from 65.2 million tonnes of CO2 eq. in 1995 to 98 million tonnes in 2010. With the measures agreed, they will be reduced by more than 20 million tonnes of CO2 eq. per year until 2012, and when the legislation is fully implemented, by 40-50 million tonnes of CO2 eq. each year.
Source: European Environmental Press