F-gas vote provides clarity for industry – Eickhout
17th January 2024EUROPE: The F-gas revision lead rapporteur Bas Eickhout has hailed yesterday’s EU parliamentary vote to phase-out hydrofluorocarbons by 2050 as “crucial” for the environment, while providing “clarity” for industry.
Following the 452 votes in favour to 92 against in the parliamentary plenary, it is expected that endorsement of the revision texts by the European Council will now be a formality prior to its publication in the EU Official Journal.
“Putting an end to F-gases is crucial, not only because these gases are extremely harmful for the climate, but we are also providing clarity and investment certainty for industry,” Bas Eickhout commented. “European companies are already at the forefront of developing clean alternatives to F-gases, so this law will be good for the climate and the European economy.”
He also brushed aside concerns that the new regulation would hamper the heat pump roll-out and disrupt European plans to transition away from fossil fuels.
“In a few years, residential heat pumps will be widely used across Europe as an alternative to oil and gas heating in peoples’ homes and are essential to our energy transition. To guarantee that heat pumps are a truly green alternative to fossil fuels, we must make sure that they are not dependent on the use of climate killing f-gases. This deal ensures that manufacturers of residential heat pumps will switch to climate-friendly alternatives in the coming years.”
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