Production, sales and emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases)

Assessment versions

Published (reviewed and quality assured)

• Production, sales and emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) (CLIM 048) - Assessment published Apr 2013

Justification for indicator selection

Emissions of F-gases contribute to global warming and are included in the basket of greenhouses addressed in the UNFCCC Kyoto Protocol. F-gases presently account for around 2% of the EU-27 overall greenhouse gas emissions, with a rising trend. At the European level, policy measures have been implemented since 2006 to reduce F-gas emissions, by targeting:

• the 'leak-tightness' of equipment containing F-gases,
• increased reclamation of used F-gases and
• by avoiding the use of F-gases in some applications in which more environmentally superior alternatives were cost-effective when the legislation was passed.

As future emissions of F-gases are strongly determined by today’s consumption, this indicator also looks at the consumption metric. 

Scientific references:

• Preparatory study for a review of Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases; Final Report & Annexes to the Final Report Prepared for the European Commission in the context of Service Contract No 070307/2009/548866/SER/C4 Authors: Schwarz et al. 2011: Schwarz, W., Gschrey, B., Leisewitz, A., Herold, A., Gores, S. Papst, I., Usinger, J., Oppelt, D., Croiset, I, Pedersen, P.-H, Colbourne, D. , Kauffeld, M., Kaar, K., Lindborg, A.

Indicator definition

The indicator tracks trends since 1990 in anthropogenic emissions of the following fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases), differentiated by HFCs, PFCs and SF₆.

The indicator also tracks trends since 2007 in the aggregated production, bulk imports, bulk exports and consumption of F-gases, differentiated, where available by HFCs, PFCs and SF₆; additional F-gases compared to the emissions list are marked in bold.

For the purpose of this indicator, consumption is defined in analogy to the Montreal Protocol as production plus bulk imports minus bulk exports minus feedstock use minus destruction.

Furthermore, the shares of intended applications of F-gas sales in the latest available reporting year are given, differentiating between

• refrigeration and air-conditioning
• fire protection
• aerosols
• foams
• electrical equipment and
• other, unknown or no information reported.

Units

Emissions: Mt CO₂-eq (GWP SAR): Million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents calculated with the global warming potentials (GWPs) as given in the IPCC 2^nd Assessment Report.

Production, imports, exports & consumption: Mt CO₂-eq (GWP TAR): Million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents calculated with the global warming potentials (GWPs) as given in the IPCC 3^rd Assessment Report.

Intended applications: Percentages based on physical tonnage and GWP TAR weighted tonnage, respectively.

Policy context and targets

Context description

Fluorinated gases contribute to global warming and F-gases, which are not covered by the Montreal Protocol, are included under the UNFCCC. Emission reporting according to the 1996 IPCC guidelines and the 2000 IPCC “Good Practice Guidance and Uncertainty Management in National Greenhouse Gas Inventories” uses the GWPs of the 2^nd IPCC Assessment report (SAR):

On European level two key legislative instruments focus on fluorinated gases:

• Regulation No 842/2006 on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gas Regulation) and
• Directive 2006/40/EC relating to emissions from air-conditioning systems in motor vehicles (MAC Directive)

The F-Gas Regulation follows two tracks of action:

• Improving the 'leak-tightness' of equipment containing F-gases. Measures comprise: labelling of equipment containing F-gases, training and certification of personnel and companies handling this type of gases, containment of F-gases within equipment, and proper recovery of F-gases from equipment that is no longer used.
• Avoiding the use of F-gases in some applications in which more environmentally superior alternatives are already cost-effective. Measures include restrictions on the use and marketing of F-gases in these cases.

The EU F-Gas Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 uses GWPs of the 3^rd IPCC Assessment Report (TAR) and accordingly extends the list of covered F-gases (in comparison to the IPCC reporting requirement) by HFC-236cb, HFC-236ea, HFC-245fa and HFC-365mfc.

The MAC Directive requires gradual phase-out of F-gases with GWP >150 in new systems in the period 2011-2017 in EU-27.

A proposal for a new F-Gas Regulation has been adopted by the European Commission on 7 November 2012 (COM 2012 (643)). The focus of the new proposal has shifted towards avoidance of F-gas use in new equipment. The core of the proposal foresees a cap on HFCs that can be sold in Europe, which will reduce HFCs in new equipment to a level of 21% by 2030. The proposal is currently being negotiated between Council and European Parliament.

Targets

In the framework of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol, no separate target for fluorinated greenhouse gases has been specified.

In the EU context, the overall objective of the F-Gas Regulation is, together with the MAC Directive, to help fulfill the commitments of the European Union and its Member States under the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, for the period 2008 to 2012. The legislation was expected to break the growing trend in the EU and maintain F-gas emissions in EU-15 at 75 million tonnes of CO2 eq. in 2010^[1]. In fact, the 2010 EU-15 F-gas emissions accounted for 82 million tonnes of CO2 eq (according to the 2012 reporting). The new proposal for an F-Gas Regulation aims to reduce emissions by two-thirds of present day levels by 2030.

^[1] COM(2003) 492 final of 11.8.2003. This Commission proposal was the basis of both the Regulation and the MAC Directive.

Related policy documents

• DIRECTIVE 2006/40/EC
  DIRECTIVE 2006/40/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 17 May 2006 relating to emissions from air-conditioning systems in motor vehicles and amending Council Directive 70/156/EEC
• Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
  Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; adopted at COP3 in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997
• Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases
  The F-gases regulation  follows two tracks of action: Improving the prevention of leaks from equipment containing F-gases. Measures comprise: containment of gases and proper recovery of equipment; training and certification of personnel and of companies handling these gases; labeling of equipment containing F-gases; reporting on imports, exports and production of F-gases.  Avoiding F-gases in some applications where environmentally superior alternatives are cost-effective. Measures include restrictions on the marketing and use of certain products and equipment containing F-gases. The Regulation has been supplemented by 10 implementing acts  or "Commission Regulations" (see Documentation tab above). Furthermore, reporting provisions have been introduced to facilitate monitoring of the Regulation's measures and ensure that its objectives are being met.
• The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
  Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer: Montreal Protocol on Substances which Deplete the Ozone Layer

Methodology

Methodology for indicator calculation

The indicator presents GWP-weighted emissions of F-gases as officially reported by the EU-27 Member States.

Furthermore, the indicator presents aggregated production, imports, exports and consumption in units of million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, which is the physical amount of F-gases produced, imported, exported or consumed, multiplied by their respective global warming potential. Data are based on company reporting under Art. 6 of the F-gas Regulation.

For the purpose of this indicator, consumption is defined in analogy to the Montreal Protocol as production plus bulk imports minus bulk exports minus feedstock use minus destruction: ‘Production’, ‘imports’ and ‘exports’ are directly be taken over from the aggregation of company reports, as summarized in the annual EEA report on the data reported under the F-Gas regulation. For ‘feedstock use’, quantities of reporting companies’ own feedstock use were added up with quantities supplied to the EU market for which the intended application was reported as feedstock use. For ‘destruction’, quantities reported for on-site destruction by the reporting company and quantities reported for destruction off-site on behalf of the reporting company were added.

Methodology for gap filling

No gap filling takes place.

Methodology references

No methodology references available.

Data specifications

EEA data references

• Fluorinated greenhouse gases (aggregated data) provided by Directorate-General for Climate Action (DG-CLIMA)
• National emissions reported to the UNFCCC and to the EU Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Mechanism provided by Directorate-General for Environment (DG Environment) , United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

Data sources in latest figures

Uncertainties

Methodology uncertainty

No uncertainty has been specified

Data sets uncertainty

In order to calculate ‘destruction’ (which feeds into the calculation of consumption), quantities reported for on-site destruction by the reporting company and quantities reported for destruction off-site on behalf of the reporting company were added. Summing up both quantities might possibly result in both double counting and omissions: Double-counting is not impossible, as reporting companies might report as ‘own destruction’ the same quantity which was reported as ‘destroyed off-site’ by another company. Omissions are very probable as specialised destruction facilities (which do not report themselves) might have destroyed more used F-gases than those quantities received by reporting companies. However, the absolute relevance of the reported destruction quantities was limited to approx. 1 % of total consumption in past years.

In order to calculate ‘feedstock use’ (which feeds into the calculation of consumption), quantities of reporting companies’ own feedstock use were added up with quantities supplied to the EU market for which the intended application was reported as feedstock use. Summing up both quantities does not involve any double counting. It is possible, however, that some foam applications were erroneously reported as feedstock use by reporting companies. However, the absolute relevance of feedstock use was limited to approx. 2 % of total consumption in past years. 

Rationale uncertainty

No uncertainty has been specified