If it sometimes seems confusing and difficult to identify and keep track of the various treaties and regulations that are having an effect on the refrigerants industry, that’s because it is. Here is a brief primer.
HFC producers’ body, the EFTC (European Fluorocarbons Technical Committee) has issued a position paper encouraging adoption of the proposed amendment to the Montreal Protocol for a global HFC cap and phase-down.
The Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy has offered its support for the negotiation of an amendment to the Montreal Protocol to include HFCs as part of it.
India has continued to block the move for a global hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) phasedown at a meeting of Montreal Protocol nations due to concerns over cost and availability of technology.
India has continued to block the move for a global HFC phasedown at a meeting of Montreal Protocol nations due to concerns over cost and availability of technology. Spain has approved the introduction of a tax on f-gases that will see refrigerants being taxed at up to €20 per tonne of CO2 equivalent by 2016.
The Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy has announced its support for the negotiation of an amendment to the Montreal Protocol which would curtail the global growth of greenhouse gas emissions from HFCs.
The executive committee of the Montreal Protocol’s Multilateral Fund has agreed to provide China, the largest producer and consumer of HCFCs, an amount up to $385 million for the complete elimination of its production of HCFCs by the year 2030.
Ongoing discussions are currently underway, examining ways to incorporate HFCs into the protocol in order to phase down their use due to relatively high global warming potential (GWP).
The reality is that in 2012, and thus far in 2013, few technicians and contractors are bringing R-22 back for reclamation despite an abundance of capacity at many reclamation facilities.
A technical conference in 2012 in Bangkok, Thailand, has provided some of the most up-to-date information on a way to deal with unwanted ozone depleting and greenhouse gases. The conference was the 32nd Open Ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol.