By Brian Johnson - 1st February 2006
The European parliament and council of ministers have backed a compromise agreement on new rules to combat emissions of fluorinated gases.
After several rounds of informal discussions, MEPs agreed late on Tuesday night to back council plans to impose a strict time limit on EU member states that want to impose more stringent, national fluorinated (F-gas) measures.
MEPs accepted a cut off date for national exemptions, for the mainly Scandinavian countries and Austria, of December 31 2012, on condition that a new clause to the F-gasses text, allowing for revision if needed in the future, is inserted.
Council had been concerned that member states going it alone on tighter F-gasses rules would disrupt the EU’s internal market.
F-gasses such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) are widely used in air conditioners, refrigerators and insulating foam
The conciliation agreement paves the way for the introduction of a series of measures to reduce the environmental impact of F-gasses, some of which the European commission believes are almost 24,000 times more damaging to the ozone layer than carbon dioxide.
F-gases were introduced in the 1990s to replace ozone-depleting CFCs and HCFCs before scientists realised they were were a significant factor in contributing to global warming.
The parliament’s centre-right rapporteur Avril Doyle called the deal a balance between environmental protection and the promotion of the EU’s single market.
“It reaffirms the EU’s commitment to reducing climate change through the containment and restriction of use of fluorinated greenhouse gases,” said Doyle.
“Importantly, member states which currently have progressive legislation on fluorinated greenhouse gases have not been forced to lower their environmental standards.”
“This sends a strong signal to member states that they will be given every encouragement from the European institutions to meet their obligations under the Kyoto protocol.”
Austrian environment minister Josef Pröll acknowledged that the deal was not a foregone conclusion.
“But we arrived at a sensible solution which shows that Europe is still operational in the fight against climate change,” said Pröll.
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