On the 4th of July, the EU F-Gas Regulation came into force, marking a step change in obliging all those operating refrigeration and air conditioning systems containing HFCs to be carefully checked for leaks by qualified personnel. The challenge for the industry is now to live up to its commitment and for national governments to ensure that the Regulation is properly put into place.

The European Partnership for Energy and the Environment (EPEE), a group of businesses involved in the development and manufacture of cooling, heating and air conditioning applications where energy efficiency and safety are important, was formed in September 2000 to contribute to the development of effective European policies to reduce greenhouse gases emissions.

EPEE Chairman Wolfgang Sandkoetter commented: “This law is based largely on an existing system in the Netherlands that has successfully reduced emissions of HFCs from over twenty per cent to less than five per cent.  The F-gas law now extends this system of responsible use and continuous monitoring to the whole of the EU and we are confident that it will deliver substantial emission reductions.”