London, UK: Regulators have promised to ramp up compliance activity around the F-Gas and ODS Regulations in 2011-2012 in a bid to tackle a wider range of companies than have so far been approached.
Advisory body F-Gas Support said that regulators from local authorities and the Environment Agency would increase engagement with the industrial sector, particularly with food and drink and pharmaceuticals companies and with the contracting sector as a whole, following the success of regulatory activities with supermarkets.
The aim, said the body, was to “maximise the effectiveness and visibility of the interventions”, so as to help encourage greater compliance from the industry.
Activity will continue to focus on the companies that are responsible for the larges F-Gas emissions, and the work between local authorities and supermarkets will continue. F-Gas Support said that the focus for retailers will change from simply meeting the regulations to encourage them to aim for ‘best in class’ standards.
The Environment Agency will target industrial users, principally food and drinks manufacturers and pharmaceuticals, which have the highest risk of emissions after supermarkets and which will generally require EA permits.
EPEE calls for ‘phase-down’ not ‘phase-out’ for forthcoming F-Gas review
An HFC phase-down, rather than phase out, would be a better outcome for the forthcoming F-Gas review. The move is claimed to be both beneficial for business and the environment, including meeting the forthcoming 20-20-20 targets. Speaking at the European Partnership for Energy and the Environment’s (EPEE) Annual General Assembly 2011, Jorge Dieguez of EPEE member Dupont Chemicals and Flouroproducts added that a phase-down would stop the need for regulators needing other forms of monitoring and control, and therefore complicating such restrictive legislation. “This approach would also encourage companies to develop alternatives, by encouraging technological developments, which would therefore further reduce emissions.” Dieqguez also called for a single solution that could be applied globally, which would further enhance the benefits of a phase down as there would be more co-ordination between the supply chains across continents. “However, this approach is hard to turn into global policy.”
