Policy
I don’t think there’s much appetite for another eco-labelling scheme at European level,” Owen says.
EU F-GAS REGULATION: SELECTED KEY DEADLINES
MARKET RESISTANCE AND OPPORTUNITIES
1 January 2015: Entered into force
Drawing from his experience steering the F-Gas Regulation through the European Parliament, the MEP stresses the need to emphasise the economic as well as environmental benefits of phasing down HFCs in order to move the market.
2016: HFC phase-down of 7% (excluding pre-charged equipment) 1 January 2017: HFC phase-down to include pre-charged equipment
“I’m a ‘green lunatic’ so I’m very much driven by climate and why it’s important to do things due to their impact on the climate. But what’s nice about this topic is that there’s an alternative industry that can gain from it,” Eickhout says.
2018: 37% cut in HFC quotas (estimated 44% including pre-charged equipment ban) 2021: 55% cut in HFC quotas 2022: Ban on using certain HFCs (GWP ≥ 150) in new plug-in commercial refrigeration equipment 2022: Ban on using certain HFCs (GWP ≥ 150) in new centralised commercial refrigeration equipment (with minor exemptions)
21
2030: Phase-down of bulk HFCs by 79%
“A tougher phase-down or more sectoral bans would give a clearer signal to the market to skip this intermediate phase and go to the natural [refrigerant] alternatives right away. Kigali could have been better there,” Eickhout argues.
Chemical companies that produce fluorinated refrigerants know this. “There was a big lobby against [the F-Gas Regulation] by the big chemical players who thought it was going too fast. We managed to overcome this because the innovative part of industry was supportive and outspoken,” he states. The MEP believes Europe is in a good position to benefit from the HFC phase-down. “We import the majority of our f-gases. But the alternative [technology] is often from European industry. You have alternatives that are better for the environment and better for these companies – we’d be stupid not to go for it!” he argues. The reach of chemical companies that manufacture patented refrigerants is not to be underestimated. Often they have permanent advocacy staff based in Brussels, the home of the EU institutions. Politicians can help to ensure that a greater diversity of voices is heard.
The European Commission must remain technologically neutral and cannot back one option over another as long as they all comply with existing legislation. “We wouldn’t want to pick winners,” says Owen. Nonetheless, he predicts that natural refrigerants will continue to grow. “They have to increase to make the phase-down work,” he says.
TOWARDS A REFRIGERANT LABEL? In the European Union, household appliances are fitted with ‘eco-labels’ evaluating their performance in terms of energy efficiency. Does Eickhout think a similar label for refrigerant emissions – or to show that a piece of equipment runs on natural refrigerants – is feasible? “I’m a bit sceptical, to be honest,” he confesses. “Unfortunately we’re going through a phase where EU regulation is not the most popular level of policymaking! So the Commission is a bit more reluctant to propose laws that are perceived as being more invasive. The escape is always labelling – let’s label, and leave it to the consumer,” Eickhout says. Instead, the MEP places the ball firmly in politicians’ court in terms of introducing stricter legislation. “As politicians, why not simply push the market in a certain direction?” he says. In the European Union, for example, “we could expand eco-design [rules] into other areas, including greenhouse gas emissions,” he reasons. At the European Commission, there is little desire to table new labelling schemes either. “Positive labelling I don’t see happening. December 2016
Accelerate Europe
Dutch Green MEP Bas Eickhout