As part of its larger goals to reduce CO2 emissions and save the environment, the European Union reached an agreement to reduce the use of extremely strong greenhouse gases in refrigerators and air conditioners.
The EU will totally phase out the usage of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) by 2050 as a result of an agreement achieved between legislators and negotiators from its member states.
Such compounds must be phased out because they have such detrimental effects on the environment. According to Teresa Ribera, Spain’s climate minister, the agreement is a crucial step toward achieving our shared aim of combating climate change.
Report says the deal will gradually ban sales of products containing f-gases, with different timelines for different products; a full f-gas ban on split air conditioning and heat pumps will apply from 2035, for example.
“F-gases are relatively unknown, but have a huge climate impact. With today’s agreement we ensure that we quickly get rid of these super greenhouse gases,” said Dutch lawmaker, Bas Eickhout, the EU Parliament’s lead negotiator on the law.
The law still needs formal approval from a majority of EU lawmakers and countries, but that step is usually a formality on pre-agreed deals.
