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Climate Action
News article9 November 2017Directorate-General for Climate Action

EU allocates reduced quotas for powerful greenhouse gases

The European Commission has allocated the EU's 2018 quotas for the import and production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), limiting the sale of the powerful greenhouse gases in the EU next year.

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The European Commission has allocated the EU's 2018 quotas for the import and production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), limiting the sale of the powerful greenhouse gases in the EU next year.

The EU’s overall HFC quota is being progressively and significantly reduced. The 2018 quota is just 63% of that allocated for 2015, with those for 2016 and 2017 at 93%. The EU regulation on fluorinated gases (F-gases) requires a gradual phase-down of HFCs, to end up at no more than 21% of 2015 sales by 2030.

HFCs, the most common type of F-gas with many applications including refrigeration, air-conditioning, foams and aerosols, are thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide (CO2) in warming the planet.

Companies can see their 2018 quotas in the HFC Registry under the EU's F-gas Portal. The names of 400 companies with a reference value have been published, a considerable rise compared to previous years. This allows importers of equipment containing HFCs to contact these companies and obtain the quota authorisations required to place such equipment on the EU market.

Companies can apply for HFC quotas each year. The application process for the 2019 quotas will open in spring 2018, with the exact dates to be published in the EU's Official Journal in early 2018.

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Details

Publication date
9 November 2017
Author
Directorate-General for Climate Action