Phase-Down procedure refrigerant

Future documentation of supply chains for refrigerants

The Phase-Down procedure limits the quantities of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The availability of refrigerants is decreasing, prices continue to rise and illegal trade in refrigerants is being tackled in the EU with a new law.

Illegal trade with refrigerants

Previous regulations such as the “Phase-Down” made illegal trade in fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) more difficult, but did not prevent it. The German government has therefore decided to amend the Chemicals Act. Once the draft legislation is passed, it will be illegal to purchase or resell F-gases that have been illegally imported into the EU. Companies in Germany will be required to document the supply chain of all players in the future, thus the EU Commission ensures that refrigerants are placed on the market within the required limit.

Phase-down procedure in detail

We are currently in the second stage of Phase-Down, which further reduces the amount of refrigerants available – from 63 percent to 45 percent of the original amount. This also contributes to the shortage of environmentally harmful refrigerants. This means that refrigerant manufacturers and importers put a predefined amount of HFCs into circulation. By 2030, 21 percent of the original 100 percent available HFC refrigerants will remain available. Therefore, the goal is to use a refrigerant with a low relative global warming potential (GWP). In accordance with the Phase-Down, refrigerants are considered sustainable if they have a GWP value < 400.

Backround to the ban

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have been banned as refrigerants for 30 years because these greenhouse gases destroy the earth’s ozone layer. As an alternative, chlorine-free fluorinated and partially fluorinated hydrocarbons (FCs and HFCs, respectively), known as F-gases, have been used instead of CFCs. Although they do not have a negative effect on the ozone layer, they have a much more damaging effect on the climate than the same amount of CO2.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, the European Union and the United Nations aim to gradually reduce the highly polluting fluorinated greenhouse gases by 80 percent by 2030. These targets are set out in the EU F-Gas regulation (Regulation (EU) No. 517/2014).