EU agrees to phase out fluorinated gases in refrigerators and air conditioners by 2050

The European Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional political agreement on Thursday on regulations for the phasing out of fluorinated gases – used in air conditioners and refrigerators, among others – and substances that contribute to global warming and deplete the ozone layer.

This agreement confirms the informal agreement reached between the two parties last June. The EU27 and the European Parliament will have to formally ratify that pact before the two regulations are published in the Official Journal of the EU for entry into force.

The effects of fluorinated gases on global warming are up to several hundred thousand times stronger than those of CO₂. Meanwhile, ozone-depleting substances create a hole in the ozone layer, a layer of Earth’s atmosphere that offers protection from cancer-causing ultraviolet rays.

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