9 Emissions of fluorinated greenhouse
gases from vehicle air conditioning systems
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| Draft Directive relating to emissions of certain fluorinated greenhouse gases from air conditioning systems in motor vehicles
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| Legal base | Article 95EC; co-decision; QMV
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| Department | Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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| Basis of consideration | Minister's letter of 24 August 2004
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| Previous Committee Report | None, but see footnote
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| To be discussed in Council | October 2004
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background
9.1 Three fluorinated gases — hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs),
perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)
— used in such applications as refrigeration and fire extinguishers,
are in the "basket" of six gases[12]
on which the Community has agreed to take action in order to meet
its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. In
particular, the first phase of the European Climate Change Programme
identified the need for legislation on the fluorinated gases,
which, though accounting for only around 2% of overall Community
greenhouse gas emissions, nevertheless have a high global warming
potential.
9.2 The Commission therefore brought forward in August
2003 a draft Regulation,[13]
which seeks to contain emissions of the three gases in question,
and to regulate their use and the basis on which they may be put
on the market. In addition to placing a general obligation on
Member States to take all technically and economically feasible
measures to prevent and minimise their emission, the proposal
sets out a number of specific containment requirements, which
were described in our Report of 15 October 2003.[14]
In that Report, we noted that the Government had said that the
UK already had in place a number of the measures proposed, and
that the main area needing to be explored was the measures proposed
for vehicle air conditioning systems, the practicality and impact
on industry of which would need to be considered, along with the
need for proven alternatives to these particular gases in such
systems.
9.3 The Government had also said that an estimate
of the financial implications would be available in a partial
Regulatory Impact Assessment, which was subsequently submitted
on 10 November 2003. This pointed out that the proposal affects
a wide range of business sectors, and that, although most of the
proposed measures were cost-effective, those affecting the mobile
air-conditioning sector were potentially problematic, and also
gave rise to concerns over how they might be enforced alongside
existing legislation, such as that on European vehicle type approvals.
In view of this last point, and the climate change context within
which these steps have been proposed, we recommended on 19 November
2003 that these issues should be debated in European Standing
Committee A. That debate duly took place on 14 January
2004.
9.4 We subsequently received two letters from the
Government stemming from the amendments to those aspects of the
proposal relating to vehicle air conditioning systems adopted
by the European Parliament at its first reading on 31 March 2004.
The Commission had initially proposed that, in the case of fluorinated
gases with a global warming potential (GWP)[15]
in excess of 150, maximum leakage rates should be set as from
1 January 2005, and that their use should be phased out between
2009 and 2018 (with a slower rate of decline where enhanced air
conditioners with a lower leakage rate are used). The Parliament's
approach would instead (i) require new vehicle types to introduce
from the beginning of 2007 leakage rate limits which would be
specified separately by the Commission and (ii) involve the introduction,
via Community legislation governing new type approvals, of a phase
out between 2011 and 2014 of fluorinated greenhouse gases with
a GWP greater than 50.
9.5 In the first letter (dated 25 April 2004), we
were told that the Government strongly supported the principle
of having measures for mobile air conditioning rooted in whole
vehicle type approval arrangements, and that, although it would
want to consider further whether the proposed dates for the phase
out and ban, the gases to be covered and the proposed approach
to leakage rates maximised the environmental benefits in a cost-effective
way, it believed that the approach favoured by the European Parliament
would be preferable to that proposed by the Commission. The subsequent
letter of 13 July 2004 confirmed that this view has generally
been welcomed by Member States, and added that, as a result, the
Presidency had produced, as a separate text, the current document
concentrating on these issues in the form of a Directive based
on Article 95EC.
The current document
9.6 Though we have not seen that text, we have now
received a letter of 24 August 2004 from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary
of State (Farming, Food and Sustainable Energy) at the Department
for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty), enclosing
a note which sets out its main elements. These are that fluorinated
gases with a GWP greater than 150 would for new model approvals
be banned from January 2011, and, in the case of vehicles manufactured
under existing type approvals, from January 2017. These measures
would apply alongside ones similar to those originally proposed
by the Commission to control gas leakages (but with some delay
to allow for the introduction of a standardised test); and there
would also be provisions to ensure (i) that mobile air conditioners
could not be fitted separately to vehicles manufactured under
new or existing type approvals, and (ii) that they cannot be fitted
empty and then filled with fluorinated gases with a GWP higher
than 150. The note also points out that the approach proposed
leaves the motor industry free to decide whether to use a fluorinated
gas with a very low GWP, or to switch to an alternative gas, such
as carbon dioxide. It says that, since the gas used in the former
case would almost certainly be moderately flammable, certain design/safety
issues would need to be resolved, but that such issues would also
arise in relation to the high operating pressure compressors which
would be needed if carbon dioxide was used.
9.7 Notwithstanding this last point, the Regulatory
Impact Assessment attached to the note suggests that, as compared
with the corresponding element in the original Commission proposal,
the benefits of the measure in question would be broadly similar,
but that, because the provisions would now be integrated with
the wider vehicle type approval arrangements, the potential costs
would considerably lower.
Conclusion
9.8 We are grateful to the Minister for this information.
Given this generally positive development, and the fact that
the wider issues raised by this measure have already been debated
in European Standing Committee A, we are content to clear the
latest text.
12 The other three gases in the "basket"
are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. Back
13
(24846) 12179/03; see HC 63-xxxiii (2002-03), para 8 (15 October
2003) and HC 63-xxxviii (2002-03), para 1 (19 November 2003).
Official Report, European Standing Committee A, 14 January 2004. Back
14
(24846) 12179/03; see HC 63-xxxiii (2002-03) paras 8.2 to 8.4
(15 October 2003). Back
15
An indication of the potential relative to carbon dioxide. Back
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