New data: EU F-gas black market still impacts climate change

New data released in February 2021 show that an illegal market continues to bypass the EU quota system in place since 2015.This system intends to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) with a high global warming potential (GWP), commonly used in cooling systems from commercial chillers through to car air conditioning systems. However, uneven enforcement by Member States has created an opportunity for criminals to bypass the quota system and import HFCs into the EU illegally. New data on this issue has been collected by Oxera Consulting LLP and analysed by EFCTC (European Fluorocarbons Technical Committee), a sector group of Cefic (European Chemical Industry Council).