The EIA has called out the organisers of COP28 for using air conditioners with “climate wrecking” HFC and HCFC refrigerants.
Tag: Environmental Investigation Agency
EIA launches “What the F” campaign
The Environmental Investigation Authority (EIA) has launched a new campaign to educate consumers about the impact of fluorinated gases on the environment. “EIA’s Climate campaign has long advocated tackling the ‘low-hanging fruit’ of climate-warming emissions, specifically the phasing out or down of fluorinated gases, or F-gases,” says the EIA. “These are a range of greenhouse […]
US lays out next steps for HFC phase-down
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced an HFC reduction of 40 per cent below historic levels from 2024 through 2028. The rule aligns with the bipartisan American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act’s goals to reduce the production and consumption of HFCs by 85 per cent by 2036. The US began its phase-down on […]
Pushing the private sector on sustainable cooling
The Environmental Investigation Agency US (EIA US) has released a new report calling for private sector commitments on cooling to be meaningful enough to tackle the climate crisis. EIA US says the suite of government contributions to curb greenhouse gas emissions alone are not enough to put the world on a path to limit warming to […]
The EU phase-down plan – brave or foolhardy?
At the end of February, the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) agreed to major amendments to the F-gas regulation – the EU legislation that controls emissions from fluorinated greenhouse gases. If the changes are confirmed by the European Parliament, it will effectively see a phase-out of HFC refrigerants […]
Europe votes to move away from fluorinated refrigerants
The European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) has agreed to amendments to the F-gas regulation that will see bans on fluorinated gases in refrigeration and air conditioning equipment over the next five years. It signals a major move away from synthetic gases and towards natural alternatives. “We are making […]
US EPA proposes tighter HFC restrictions
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has moved to restrict the use of many “super-pollutant” hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in new air conditioner and refrigeration systems, as well as in foams and aerosols. The proposal targets the use of HFCs above a certain global warming potential (GWP) and will require most new equipment to transition to lower-GWP […]
Refrigerant management key to curbing emissions
Fluorocarbon emissions equivalent to 90 billion tonnes of CO2 could be avoided through minimising refrigerant leaks and maximising recovery and reclamation, according to a new report from US agencies. The report, The 90 Billion Ton Opportunity: Lifecycle Refrigerant Management, estimates that better life-cycle management can prevent fluorocarbon emissions equal to nearly three full years of global […]
Hydrocarbons the future for residential AC?
Industry stakeholders have applauded a revised International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) safety standard that will allow larger charges of flammable refrigerants in household appliances such as air conditioners, heat pumps and dehumidifiers. In particular, it could open the way for greater use of hydrocarbons in residential air conditioning. Standard IEC 60335-2-40 deals with the safety of […]
New report exposes scale of illegal HFC trade
A new report from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has exposed the alarming extent to which HFC refrigerants are illegally bought and sold in Europe. It suggests that the illegal trade represents as much as 30 per cent of the legal trade – or as much as 30 million tonnes of CO2e. Titled Europe’s Most […]