EU 2011 F-Gas data published - AC R majority of intended applications

A new report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) in cooperation with the European Commission summarises the latest data reported under the EU F-Gas Regulation by 120 companies that have produced, sold, imported or exported Fluorinated gases (F-gases) in the European Union (EU) in 2011. F-Gas production in metric tonnes decreased in 2011, though when expressed in CO₂eq there was a slight increase, while the majority of the intended applications was for air‐conditioning

The main findings regarding the overall production, sales, import, export and intra-EU sales of F-gases - including hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) - for 2011 include:

In absolute metric tonnes of gas, there was a decrease in production (-5%), imports (-6%) and intra-EU sales (-12%) of F-gases between 2010 and 2011. Exports increased by 5%.

When these values are expressed in terms of global warming potential (GWP), different patterns emerge due to the large differences in GWP values of certain F-gases. An increase is still evident in exported F-gases (+12%), but now also for production (+1%). There were decreases in both imports (-8%) and sales (-11%).

F‑gases contained in imported pre-charged equipment not accounted for

F‑gases contained in imported equipment, however, are not captured by the statistics in the report. The significance of pre-charged equipment imports and the lack of data in that respect renders the estimation of the actual amount of F-Gases being put on the EU market an intricate task. For example previous estimates by the European Commission indicate that in 2008, approximately 10% of F-gases imported to the EU were contained in pre-charged room air conditioning and air-conditioning systems of motor vehicles alone.

Refrigeration and air-conditioning majority of intended applications for F-gases

The majority of the intended applications for F‐gases in 2011 was for refrigeration and air‐conditioning, applications that use mainly HFCs.

When expressed in terms of CO₂‐equivalents, the 2007–2011 trends show that there is a strong decrease in the use of F‐gases for foams. When quantities of F‐gases contained in imported equipment is excluded, the use of F‐gases in aerosols and refrigeration/air conditioning has also declined since 2007.

Contribution of F-gas emissions steadily growing since 1990

F-gases contributed 2% of total EU-27 GHG emissions in 2010, measured in terms of CO₂-equivalent and according to the latest official EU greenhouse gas emissions data, their contribution has been steadily growing since 1990.

"Innovation is a key part of tackling climate change and for certain applications, viable alternatives to F-gases already exist," EEA Executive Director Jacqueline McGlade said. "This makes them an ideal candidate to replace with less harmful alternatives, in order to limit the growth of emissions".