Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on
certain fluorinated greenhouse gases
These pages are intended as a guide to stakeholders on Regulation (EC) No
842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on certain fluorinated
greenhouse gases. On this page you will find a summary of the latest
developments, the final text of the Regulation and MAC Directive, initial
Government guidance and minutes of the industry stakeholders meetings. Contact
details are provided at the bottom of the page.
Index
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Latest Developments
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Summary of the Regulation and final text
-
MAC Directive and final text
-
Initial Government Guidance
-
Supplementary Guidance for Stationary Refrigeration, Air-Conditioning and Heat
Pump Users
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Work being carried out by the European Commission
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Minutes of f-gas industry stakeholders meetings
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Key Contacts
This section summarises key recent developments. More details and links to
documents are provided in the sections below.
Defra together with the DTI, Scottish Executive, Welsh Assembly and other
stakeholders, have produced supplementary guidance for stationary refrigeration
air-conditioning and heat pump users with an accompanying refrigerant charge
calculator spreadsheet (see section 5). The Refrigerant charge calculator
spreadsheet has been prepared to help estimate the amount of refrigerant in
refrigeration or air-conditioning equipment. Making a reasonable estimate of
the refrigerant charge in a circuit is necessary in order to understand which of
the Regulation's obligations will apply to the operaror responsible for that
piece of equipment.
The supplementary guidance complements the recently published UK Government
initial guidance and Frequently Asked Questions documents. You can download a
copy of the initial guidance and the FAQ documents in section 4.
DTI, working with other Whitehall departments and the devolved
administrations, continues to seek the views of UK industry on implementing the
Regulation and would appreciate your comments. If you wish to comment, please
e-mail your views to Alan Morgan ([email protected])
at the Sustainable Development Unit.
Respondents in Scotland are requested to copy comments to the Scottish
Executive’s Climate Change Team
[email protected]
The f-gas Regulation and Directive were published on 14 June 2006 in the
Official Journal of the European Union and entered into force is 4 July 2006.
It will apply with effect from 4 July 2007.
The objectives of the Regulation
The principal objective is to contain, prevent and thereby reduce emissions
of f-gases covered by the Kyoto Protocol. This Regulation will make a
significant contribution towards the European Community's Kyoto Protocol target
by introducing cost-effective mitigation measures and to prevent distortion of
the internal market.
The main focus is on containment and recovery of f-gases, together with
harmonised restrictions on the marketing and use of f-gases in applications
where containment of f-gases is difficult to achieve or the use of f-gases is
considered inappropriate and suitable alternatives exist.
The sectors affected
The containment and recovery articles in the Regulation will have an impact
on the commercial refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat pump sectors and in
the fire protection sector; and for the personnel involved in the installation,
servicing and recovery of f-gases from these systems as well as from equipment
containing fluorinated greenhouse gas based solvents, high voltage switchgear
and fire extinguishers. Operators of relevant systems will have a range of
obligations including prompt leakage repair, leakage checking and record keeping
and ensuring appropriately qualified personnel are used.
However, this Regulation will potentially also have an impact on a wider
range of f-gas uses due to the recovery obligation provided for in Article 4.3.
The Regulation will also impact on producers, importers and exporters of
f-gases if they produce, import or export more than 1 tonne of f-gases per annum
as they will have to report to the Commission and Member States' competent
authorities on the amounts produced, imported or exported.
In addition, specified products and equipment that contain f-gases will be
subject to labelling requirements and specific uses of f-gases and products that
contain f-gases are controlled or banned by the Regulation. These cover certain
uses of sulphur hexafluoride for magnesium die-casing, use of certain f-gases in
non-refillable containers, fire protection systems, tyres, one component foams,
novelty aerosols, footwear and windows and self-chilling cans.
f-gas Regulation (EC) No 842/2006
During negotiations in Council it was agreed that the measures in the
Regulation relating to Mobile Air Conditioning (MAC) should form part of a
separate Directive amending existing vehicle type approval legislation.
The MAC Directive sets out measures to minimise emissions of f-gases from air
conditioning systems in cars (or car derived vans). This is to be achieved
principally through:
· the introduction of maximum leakage rates
· the eventual phase out in MAC use of f-gases with global warming potential
greater than 150.
The Department of Transport is responsible for transposing the MAC Directive
into UK law. For further information on the MAC Directive, contact Chris Parkin,
Tel: 020 7944 2958
MAC
Directive 2006/40/EC
Key obligations in the Regulation will apply in the UK and the rest of the EU
from 4th July 2007. The Government is continuing to work with stakeholders to
ensure that the f-gas Regulation is successfully implemented and its
environmental objectives achieved. This initial framework guidance is a key
part of that work and has been developed in discussion with stakeholder groups.
The guidance will be updated as necessary, including in the light of progress of
the work of the f-gas Regulatory Committee (see section on article 12). A
supplementary document to the initial guidance on frequently asked questions has
also been published.
EC regulation on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases - UK Government initial
guidance - September 2006 EC
Regulation no 842/2006 on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases: frequently asked
questions
This Guidance Note is a supplement to the UK Government Initial Guidance (see
above)
on the F-Gas Regulation. In particular this Guidance is intended to:
- Help operators of stationary refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat pump
equipment identify whether they use refrigerants affected by the new
Regulation.
- Help identify how much refrigerant they have in a system. This is
important as it affects the way the Regulation will apply.
- For those that are affected, to provide an explanation of what actions
they need to take to comply and the dates when the new rules come into force.
The supplementary Guidance note is only aimed at stationary refrigeration,
air-conditioning and heat pump users. Other sectors affected by the F-Gas
Regulation (e.g. fire protection systems, solvents, foam blowing, aerosols)
should refer to the UK Government Initial Guidance above.
EC Regulation no 842/2006 on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases. Supplementary
guidance for statutory refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat pump users. The
Refrigerant charge calculator spreadsheet has been prepared to help estimate the
amount of refrigerant in refrigeration or air-conditioning equipment. Making a
reasonable estimate of the refrigerant charge in a circuit is necessary in
order to understand which of the Regulation's obligations will apply to the
operator responsible for that piece of equipment. To use the Refrigerant Charge
Calculator you will need to enable the macros. The macro security settings
within Excel will need to be set at low or medium. Refrigerant
Charge Calculator
*Information from the DTI
website. |