Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are a group of manufactured synthetic F-gases with a high Global Warming Potential (GWP). They are used in refrigeration equipment, air conditioning, heat pumps, and as aerosol propellants and foam-blowing agents. The production and use of HFCs are now being phased down globally in accordance with the adoption of the Kigali Amendment, and Europe is at the forefront of this phase-down.
F-gases have been regulated in the EU since 2006. The EU f-gas regulation aims to protect the environment by limiting the total amount of F-gases imported and produced in the EU, restricting the use of high GWP F-gases in certain types of equipment and appliances, and totally banning the use of F-gases in certain appliances. It moreover prevents emissions from existing equipment and appliances by requiring qualified maintenance and installation. The EU mobile air-conditioning systems (MACs) directive from 2006 aims to reduce emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases in passenger cars. The directive prohibits using F-gases with a GWP higher than 150 in all new passenger cars and light vans and was fully implemented in 2017. The current F-gas Regulation 517/2014 went into force in 2015, replacing the old one. Relevant measures from the preceding F-gas Regulation remain in place. The current F-gas Regulation aims to reduce F-gas emissions by two-thirds by 2030 compared to 2010, and introduced a phase-down timeline that started in 2015. The HFC phase-down is being implemented by annual quotas that are gradually being reduced; the quotas are putting quantitative limits on the placement of HFCs on the EU market by producers and importers.
There are numerous market-available alternatives to HFCs, including Hydrofluoroolefins, natural refrigerants, and HFO/HFC blends. HFOs are unsaturated HFCs and are considered the fourth generation of synthetic refrigerants. They differ from earlier generations of fluorinated refrigerants by having a low GWP and no ozone depletion potential (ODP). After implementing the EU MAC directive in 2006, HFO-1234yf was found to be a suitable alternative for mobile air-conditioning systems. HFOs first entered the Nordic markets in the beginning of the 2010s when new passenger vehicles started using HFO-1234yf in their AC systems. Today, several HFO substances are market available and are used in refrigeration equipment, air conditioning, heat pumps, and as aerosol propellants and foam-blowing agents either in pure form or as part of HFC/HFO blends. There is no production of HFCs or HFOs in the Nordic countries, so everything is imported.