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Indicator Specification
Emissions of F-gases contribute to global warming and are included in the basket of greenhouse gases addressed in the UNFCCC Kyoto Protocol. F-gases presently account for around 3 % of overall greenhouse gas emissions in the EU-28, with a long-term rising trend. At European level, policy measures have been implemented since 2006 to reduce emissions by:
Furthermore, phase-down schemes for the use of HFCs were agreed within the EU in 2014 and globally under the Montreal Protocol in 2016.
As future emissions of F-gases are strongly determined by use today, this indicator also looks at supply.
This indicator tracks trends since 1990 in anthropogenic emissions of the F-gases listed below. The indicator also tracks trends since 2007 in the supply of F-gases. Furthermore, figures for the shares of major intended applications of EU supply are given for the latest available reporting year.
EU supply is a parameter derived from company reporting under the F-gas Regulation, which provides information on the actual use of F-gases by EU industries. It focuses on potentially emission-relevant supplies of gases to EU industries and thus does not cover supplies intended for feedstock use or destruction.
The lists of gases covered in the supply part of the indicator differ between the period 2007-2013 and the period starting in 2014. For the period 2007-2013, data on only supply in bulk are available. (The term 'bulk' refers to shipments of gases contained in gas containers of all sizes, ranging from large ISO containers of several tonnes to small gas bottles of a few grams.) Since 2014, supply within products and equipment has been recorded. Both of these add up to total EU supply.
Bulk supply is calculated by first adding reported amounts for:
and then subtracting the following reported amounts:
Gas supplies in products and equipment are the gas contents of products and equipment imported and placed on the EU market.
Lists of gases
All gases listed have been tracked for emissions since 1990. Gases in bold have not been tracked for supply in all years since 2007. Gases outside the scope of tracking supply for only the period 2007-2013 are given in italics.
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) |
Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) |
Other perfluorinated gases |
HFC-23 |
PFC-14 (CF4) |
SF6 |
HFC-32 |
PFC-116 (C2F6) |
NF3 |
HFC-41 |
PFC-218 (C3F8) |
|
HFC-43-10mee |
PFC-3-1-10 (C4F10) |
|
HFC-125 |
PFC-318 (c-C4F8) |
|
HFC-134 |
PFC-4-1-12 (C5F12) |
|
HFC-134a |
PFC-5-1-14 (C6F14) |
|
HFC-143 |
PFC-9-1-18 (C10F18) |
|
HFC-143a |
PFC-216 (c-C3F6) |
|
HFC-152 |
|
|
HFC-152a |
|
|
HFC-161 |
|
|
HFC-227ea |
|
|
HFC-236cb |
|
|
HFC-236ea |
|
|
HFC-236fa |
|
|
HFC-245ca |
|
|
HFC-245fa |
|
|
HFC-365mfc |
|
|
Where the abovementioned gases are used or emitted as part of a mixture of gases, the corresponding proportions are accounted for. For tracking HFC consumption under the Montreal Protocol, only the proportions of HFCs in HFC-containing mixtures are accounted for. HFC-161 is excluded from the scope of the Montreal Protocol.
The units used in this indicator are million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (GWP AR4), that is million tonnes CO2 equivalent calculated with the GWPs given in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report.
For tracking progress under the HFC phase-down of the EU F-gas Regulation, mixtures containing HFCs are included in the scope of the phase-down. The GWP of a mixture includes the GWP of non-HFC constituent gases according to Annex IV to Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 (the F-gas Regulation).
To calculate the proportion of gases used in various intended applications, percentages are based on GWP-AR4-weighted tonnage.
Fluorinated gases contribute to global warming, and emissions of fluorinated gases, which are not covered by the Montreal Protocol, are included under the UNFCCC. Since 2015, emission reporting for the full time series since 1990 has been carried out in accordance with the 2006 IPCC guidelines and uses the GWPs of the Fourth IPCC Assessment Report (AR4). For a list of fluorinated gases reportable under the UNFCCC, please refer to the indicator definition. Companies reporting under the 'old' EU F-gas Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 842/2006, applicable 2007-2014) and under the revised, ‘new’, F-gas Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 517/2014, applicable since 2015) must cover an extended list of fluorinated gases. To ensure consistency, in this indicator the supplies of only those fluorinated gases that are also reportable under the UNFCCC are tracked.
At European level, two key legislative instruments focus on fluorinated gases:
The F-gas Regulation takes several approaches to reducing F-gas emissions:
The MAC Directive requires the gradual phase-out of F-gases with a GWP of >150 in new systems in the period 2011-2017 in the EU.
At global level, the Montreal Protocol was amended to regulate HFCs in October 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda (the 'Kigali Amendment'). Both developed and developing countries have taken on mandatory commitments to reduce the production and consumption of HFCs in the next three decades. Under the amended protocol, for the EU and other developed countries, HFC consumption is limited to 90 % of the baseline starting in 2019, with further reduction steps planned until 15 % of the baseline is reached from 2036 onwards.
Under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol, no separate targets for F-gases have been specified.
In the EU context, the revised, 'new', F-gas Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 517/2014) aims to reduce emissions by two thirds of the 2010 level by 2030.
This indicator presents GWP-weighted emissions of fluorinated gases as officially reported by the 28 EU Member States.
Furthermore, the indicator presents aggregated EU supply in units of Mt CO2 equivalent, which is the physical amount of gases supplied, multiplied by their respective GWP. Data are based on company reporting under Article 6 of the 'old' F-gas Regulation (No 842/2006) and Article 19 of the ‘new’ F-gas Regulation (No 517/2014).
For the period 2007-2013 (reporting under the ‘old’ F-gas Regulation, No 842/2006), data on only supply in bulk are available. Since 2014 (reporting under the ‘new’ F-gas Regulation, No 517/2014), supplies within products and equipment have been recorded as well, and both add up to total EU supply.
Bulk supply is calculated by first adding reported amounts for:
and then subtracting the following reported amounts:
Gas supplies in products and equipment are the gas contents of products and equipment imported and placed on the EU market.
For progress under the EU HFC phase-down, POM is calculated as follows for all HFCs and mixtures containing HFCs, with physical mass converted into CO2 equivalents using the GWPs of AR4:
Under the Montreal Protocol, the HFC phase-down is based on reducing HFC consumption. Consumption is calculated as production + bulk imports – bulk exports – destruction – feedstock use of HFCs.
All information provided to the European Commission and the European Environment Agency (EEA) on transactions of F-gases in the EU is treated as strictly confidential. The Commission and the EEA have established procedures to ensure that all of the data relating to individual companies will be kept strictly confidential. No company-specific information is disclosed to the public; all company data are aggregated before publication. These procedures limit the release of data that might significantly rely on reports from less than three company groups. To this end, company groups that contribute less than 5 % do not count towards the 'three-company rule'. Concerns over confidentiality can be addressed to the European Commission or to the entity designated by the European Commission.
Not applicable.
No methodology references available.
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
Work specified here requires to be completed within 1 year from now.
Work specified here will require more than 1 year (from now) to be completed.
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/emissions-and-consumption-of-fluorinated-2 or scan the QR code.
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