Synopsis
This Regulation will revoke and replace the Fluorinated Greenhouse Gas Regulation (EU) No 517/2014.
Changes will include expanded leak testing obligations, further bans or restrictions on supplying additional types of product and further restrictions on maintenance and service operations using higher GWP gases. Decreasing production rights and quotas will apply to F-gases and the associated products produced or placed on the EU Market.
Summary
Regulation (EU) 2024/573 will revoke and replace the Fluorinated Greenhouse Gas Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 and makes amendments to the Whistleblowing Directive (EU) 2019/1937.
Regulation (EU) 2024/573 is due to come fully into force on 3 March 2025.
This legislation will apply to EU Member States.
What will change?
Regulation (EU) 2024/573 revises rules on fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) to reflect the European Green Deal, which includes policies intended to achieve net greenhouse gas emissions reductions of 55% by 2030. More restrictive quotas will be applied on hydrofluorocarbon gases and the volume of these gases that may be placed on the market will reduce significantly.
Updated rules will apply on:
Containment, maintenance and testing
Repair obligations after leaks arise are specifically also applied to the manufacturers of F-gas equipment and users of F-gases.
After repairs are undertaken following a leak, checks must be undertaken by a competent person within 1 month. The Regulation (EU) 2024/573 states that this must also be undertaken at least 24 operating hours after the repair, although it may be undertaken for mobile equipment before this period has passed .
Parties placing F-gases on the market must provide evidence to the competent authority that any trifluoromethane, produced as a by-product, is destroyed or recovered for use. Declarations of conformity for gases to be placed on the market must include this information. These declarations must be maintained for at least five years.
Users of sulfuryl fluoride for fumigation will be required to capture and collect this gas.
Leak checks
Departing from the 2014 Regulation, leak testing intervals are applied on unit capacity thresholds for Annex I gases (hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and other fluorinated compounds) (which will apply in tCO2e) and Annex II gases (unsaturated hydro(chloro)fluorocarbons, fluorinated substances used as inhalation anaesthetics and other fluorinated substances) (which will apply in kg).
Periodic testing must be undertaken by competent personnel to identify leaks and to trigger the repair any detected leakage. This testing must be undertaken at the following intervals:
Global warming potential (GWP) of refrigerant charge (Annex I gases) |
kg charge (Annex II gases only) |
Frequency |
Frequency where leak detection system fitted |
Below 5 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) (below 10 tCO2e if hermetically sealed) |
Below 1 kg (below 2kg if hermetically sealed (3kg if residential)) |
Not required |
Not required |
Between 5 and 50 tCO2e (between 10 and 50 tCO2e if hermetically sealed) |
Between 1 and 10 kg (between 2 and 10 kg if hermetically sealed (3 to 10 kg if residential)) |
12 months |
24 months |
Between 50 and 500 tCO2e |
Between 10 and 100 kg |
6 months |
12 months |
500 tCO2e or above |
100 kg or above |
3 months |
6 months (leak detection mandatory for systems installed from 2017-on) |
From 12 March 2027, leak testing requirements will apply to mobile equipment in further vehicles (these already apply to truck and trailer refrigeration units). This now must include the following, where the respective thresholds are exceeded:
Leak testing: Exemptions, clarifications and additional requirements
Record keeping
Additional record keeping duties will apply:
Recovery and destruction
Extended producer responsibility schemes
By 31 December 2027, EU Member States are required to ensure that financing arrangements for the management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) include the recycling, reclamation or destruction of F-gases in EEE placed on the market after 10 March 2024.
Certification and training
Certification programmes for work involving F-gases will need to be expanded to include maintaining the energy efficiency of equipment during installation, maintenance or servicing.
By 12 March 2026, the European Commission is required to establish the updated minimum requirements for training and certification programmes in law.
New restrictions on placing F-gases on the market and the use of these gases
Annex IV states products and equipment (or the parts thereof) that may not be placed on the market from the dates stated. A number of exemptions apply.
Requirements are also applied on refillable containers for F-gases. These must be subject to declarations of conformity.
Maintenance, service or use bans
Article 13 prohibits certain activities, which are listed in the table below.
Date in force |
Equipment and activity prohibited |
Gases affected |
1 January 2025 |
Maintenance and servicing of any refrigeration equipment |
Virgin F-gases with a global warming potential (GWP) of 2,500 or more |
1 January 2030 |
Reclaimed or recycled gases with a GWP of 2,500 or more |
|
1 January 2026 |
Maintenance or servicing of air-conditioning equipment or heat pumps |
Virgin F-gases with a GWP of 2,500 or more |
1 January 2032 |
Reclaimed or recycled F-gases with a GWP of 2,500 or more |
|
1 January 2032 |
Maintenance or servicing of stationary refrigeration equipment except chillers |
Virgin F-gases listed in Annex I with a global warming potential of 750 (unless exempt) |
1 January 2035 |
Maintaining or servicing electrical switchgear equipment |
Virgin SF6, unless it is proved reclaimed or recycled SF6 cannot be used. |
1 January 2026 |
Use as inhalation anaesthetic |
Desflurane, unless when strictly required and no other anaesthetic can be used on medical grounds |
1 January 2026 |
Putting into operation electrical switchgear up to and including 24 kV |
Any F-gas used as an insulating or breaking medium |
1 January 2030 |
Putting into operation electrical switchgear between 24 and 52 kV |
|
1 January 2028 |
Putting into operation electrical switchgear between 52 and 145 kV up to 50 kA short circuit current |
Any F-gas with a GWP or 1 or more |
1 January 2032 |
Putting into operation electrical switchgear above 145 kV or more than 50 kA short circuit current |
A range of exemptions and exclusions apply against the above, as stated in Article 13.
Hydrofluorocarbon production and trade
Updated quotas (production rights) will apply across the EU. The first round of production rights under the Regulation is due to be allocated by 1 January 2025. Quotas will be based on the baseline annual average of production by each producer between 2011 to 2013, reducing from 60% of the baseline between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2028 to 15% of the baseline from 1 January 2036.
Updated quotas will apply to organisations producing or importing hydrofluorocarbons, with the first round due on 31 October 2024. Quota allocations will take place every at least every three years subsequently. Fugitive releases of these gases count against these quotas. Organisations are required to register to receive quotas and to administer their obligations under the F-gas Portal. As previously, quotas include products or equipment pre-charged with hydrofluorocarbons.
The Regulation (EU) 2024/573 applies restrictions on trade and how these restrictions will be monitored and enforced.
From 12 March 2025, the export of foams, technical aerosols, stationary refrigeration and stationary air-conditioning equipment and stationary heat pumps that contain or rely on F-gases with a GWP of 1,000 or greater will be prohibited.
Reporting by producers, imports and exporters
By 31 March 2025 and every year subsequently, organisations will be required to report the quantity of F-gases that have been exported, reclaimed, destroyed, used, placed on the market, imported or received.
From 30 April 2025, reports need to be verified by an independent auditor if the organisation placed 1,0000 tCO2e or more of hydrocarbons on the market in the preceding calendar year.
Greenspace subscribers receive full monthly updates summarising new and forthcoming legislation applicable to their organisation.
To receive these free updates by email, please subscribe to our mailing list. For a free trial and demonstration of Greenspace or a quotation, please contact us by email.