High-GWP refrigerants may soon be in short supply and rising in price as stockpiles dwindle, international pressures hit our shores, and the HFC phase-down quotas start to bite. And according to experts at AIRAH’s Refrigeration 2022 conference this week, that means it’s time for contractors to urgently switch away from R404A. When the HFC phase-down […]
The Biden administration has announced the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will release a new rule to reduce the emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by 85 per cent over 15 years. The move, signalled earlier this year, will bring the USA in line with the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which has now been ratified by […]
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 […]
A new report from the German Environment Agency, and research from the University of New South Wales have raised more concerns about the environmental impacts of HFO refrigerants. When hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) were identified as greenhouse gases, and targeted for phase-down under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs) were put forward as an […]
Despite its tag as an “outgoing” refrigerant in the HFC phase-down, there are signs that R404A remains a go-to option for key sectors of Australia’s HVAC&R industry. According to experts, pressure from end-users for low first-cost and straightforward, low-risk solutions, and a lack of incentives to move to new technologies have made R404A an ongoing […]
Debate is intensifying in Europe over the future of HFCs as the European Union eyes stricter limits on the global warming potential of refrigerants, and manufacturers push back on the proposed switch to hydrocarbons. The European Union (EU) is in the process of reviewing its F-Gas Regulation, which provides a roadmap for phasing down fluorinated […]
After the US government committed to phase down HFCs in line with the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken a concrete step by putting forward the first rule under the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act. The AIM Act directs the EPA to sharply reduce production and […]
China and the US have affirmed their joint commitment to phasing down HFCs in line with the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. The announcement came after two days of talks between US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and China Special Envoy for Climate Change Xie Zhenhua. Chinese president Xi Jinping had earlier […]
Twelve American states have filed a federal lawsuit against President Joe Biden for his executive climate change order, alleging that he lacks the statutory and constitutional authority to dictate specific values for the “social costs” of greenhouse gases for regulatory programs administered by the federal government. Biden signed executive order 13990 on his first day […]
Global chemistry company and refrigerant producer Chemours has announced a project to significantly reduce emissions of HFC-23 at its Louisville, Kentucky (US) manufacturing site. HFC-23 is a potent greenhouse gas with a 100-year global warming potential (GWP) of 12,400 – many times greater than most refrigerants used today. It is a by-product of producing R22, […]