The Environmental Investigation Agency issued a warning today – 15th June – that retailers in the EU face severe financial repercussions if they have not transitioned to hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)-free cooling technology.
The EU F-Gas Regulation, brought into law in 2015, legislates for the rapid, stepped phasing out of the use HFCs, which are potent greenhouse gases.
From 2018 HFC supplies will be slashed by 48%. This will make HFC technology far less attractive from a cost point of view and suppliers will be forced to increases prices sharply. Prices have already increased 62% in the first quarter of 2017.
HFC use has soared since first being introduced as a replacement for the banned chlorofluorcarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). These chlorinated organic compounds were largely responsible for the global atmospheric ozone depletion and were banned as part of the Montreal Protocol in 1987. Montreal was a landmark agreement and put the ozone layer on a path to complete recovery by the middle of this century. This recovery will prevent harmful cancer-causing UV radiation from reaching the Earth’s surface.
While HFCs are far less damaging to ozone and have a much lower global warming potential (GWP) than CFCs, they still have a GWP thousands of times greater than CO2. In recognition of the dangers of HFCs, a global agreement was reached last year to amend the Montreal Protocol to include the phasing out of HFCs.
Clare Perry, head of the EIA’s Climate Campaign has said that while “European retailers stand out as global leaders in the adoption of HFC-free commercial refrigeration…the uptake across Europe is much short of the pace needed”. The EIA is urging supermarkets and other retailers to speed up the transition. She also warned that HFC shortages could drive illegal trade in HFCs in the EU. This black market trade is also a concern in the US.
In their latest Chilling Facts report, the EIA outlined the current retailers that are leading the transition, with Aldi Süd and Tesco topping the list. From an Irish point of view, the report highlights that all new Aldi stores in Ireland will use HFC-free refrigeration and that Tesco currently has 11 stores in Ireland that use CO2 instead of HFC as a coolant. Unfortunately, Musgraves – a leading grocery and wholesale supplier in Ireland – is lagging far behind and according to the EIA report still has 100% reliance on HFC technology.
