Regulation (EU) 2024/573 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 February 2024 on fluorinated greenhouse gases, amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 (Text with EEA relevance)

CHAPTER I

General provisions

Article 1

Subject matter

This Regulation:

(a) lays down rules on containment, use, recovery, recycling, reclamation and destruction of fluorinated greenhouse gases and on related ancillary measures, such as certification and training, which includes the safe handling of fluorinated greenhouse gases and of alternative substances that are not fluorinated;

(b) imposes conditions on the production, import, export, placing on the market, subsequent supply and use of fluorinated greenhouse gases, and of specific products and equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gases or whose functioning relies upon those gases;

(c) imposes conditions on specific uses of fluorinated greenhouse gases;

(d) establishes quantitative limits for the placing on the market of hydrofluorocarbons;

(e) establishes rules on reporting.

Article 2

Scope

This Regulation applies to:

(a) the fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annexes I, II and III, whether alone or as mixtures; and

(b) products and equipment, and parts thereof, containing fluorinated greenhouse gases or whose functioning relies upon those gases.

Article 3

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(1) ‘global warming potential’ or ‘GWP’ means the climatic warming potential of a greenhouse gas relative to that of carbon dioxide (CO2), calculated in terms of the 100-year global warming potential, unless otherwise specified, of one kilogram of a greenhouse gas relative to one kilogram of CO2, as set out in Annexes I, II, III and VI or in the case of mixtures, calculated in accordance with Annex VI;

(2) ‘mixture’ means a substance composed of two or more substances, at least one of which is a substance listed in Annex I, II or III;

(3) ‘tonne of CO2 equivalent’ means a quantity of greenhouse gases expressed as the product of the weight of the greenhouse gases in metric tonnes and of their global warming potential;

(4) ‘hydrofluorocarbons’ or ‘HFCs’ means the substances listed in Section 1 of Annex I or mixtures containing any of those substances;

(5) ‘operator’ means the undertaking exercising actual power over the technical functioning of products, equipment or facilities covered by this Regulation, or the owner designated by a Member State as being responsible for the operator’s obligations in specific cases;

(6) ‘placing on the market’ means the customs release for free circulation in the Union or the supplying or making available to another person within the Union, for the first time, for payment or free of charge, or the use of substances produced, or of products or equipment manufactured, for own use;

(7) ‘import’ means the entry of substances, products and equipment into the customs territory of the Union, in so far as the territory is covered by a ratification of the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (the ‘Protocol’), and includes temporary storage and the customs procedures referred to in Articles 201 and 210 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013;

(8) ‘export’ means the exit of substances, products and equipment from the customs territory of the Union, in so far as the territory is covered by a ratification of the Protocol;

(9) ‘hermetically sealed equipment’ means equipment of which all parts containing fluorinated greenhouse gas are made tight during the manufacturing process at the premises of the manufacturer by welding, brazing or a similar permanent connection, which may include capped valves or capped service ports that allow proper repair or disposal, and of which the joints in the sealed system have a tested leakage rate of less than 3 grams per year under a pressure of at least a quarter of the maximum allowable pressure;

(10) ‘container’ means a receptacle which is designed primarily for transporting or storing fluorinated greenhouse gases;

(11) ‘recovery’ means the collection and storage of fluorinated greenhouse gases from containers, products and equipment during maintenance or servicing or prior to the disposal of the containers, products or equipment;

(12) ‘recycling’ means the reuse of a recovered fluorinated greenhouse gas following a basic cleaning process, including filtering and drying;

(13) ‘reclamation’ means the reprocessing of a recovered fluorinated greenhouse gas to the equivalent performance of a virgin substance, taking into account its intended use, in authorised reclamation facilities that have the appropriate equipment and procedures in place to enable the reclamation of such gases and that can assess and attest to the level of the required quality;

(14) ‘destruction’ means the process of transforming or decomposing, permanently and as completely as possible, a fluorinated greenhouse gas into one or more stable substances that are not fluorinated greenhouse gases;

(15) ‘decommissioning’ means the permanent removal from operation or usage of a product or of equipment that contains fluorinated greenhouse gases, including the final shutdown of a facility;

(16) ‘repair’ means the restoration of damaged or leaking products or equipment that contain fluorinated greenhouse gases or whose functioning relies upon those gases, involving a part containing or designed to contain such gases;

(17) ‘installation’ means the process of joining two or more pieces of equipment or circuits containing or designed to contain fluorinated greenhouse gases, with a view to assembling a system in the location where it will be operated, that entails joining together gas-carrying conductors of a system to complete a circuit irrespective of the need to charge the system after assembly;

(18) ‘maintenance or servicing’ means all activities, excluding recovery in accordance with Article 8 and leak checks in accordance with Article 4 and Article 10(1), first subparagraph, point (b), that entail opening the circuits or other subparts containing or designed to contain fluorinated greenhouse gases, supplying the system with fluorinated greenhouse gases, removing one or more pieces of circuit or equipment, reassembling two or more pieces of circuit or equipment, as well as repairing leaks, or adding fluorinated greenhouse gas;

(19) ‘virgin substance’ means a substance which has not previously been used;

(20) ‘stationary’ means not normally in transit during operation and covers room air conditioning equipment which is moveable between rooms;

(21) ‘mobile’ means normally in transit during operation;

(22) ‘one-component foam’ means a foam composition contained in a single aerosol dispenser in unreacted or partly reacted liquid state and that expands and hardens when it leaves the dispenser;

(23) ‘refrigerated truck’ means a motor vehicle with a mass of more than 3,5 tonnes that is designed and constructed primarily to carry goods and that is equipped with a refrigeration unit;

(24) ‘refrigerated trailer’ means a vehicle that is designed and constructed to be towed by a road vehicle or a tractor, primarily to carry goods and that is equipped with a refrigeration unit;

(25) ‘refrigerated light-duty vehicle’ means a motor vehicle with a mass of 3,5 tonnes or less that is designed and constructed primarily to carry goods and that is equipped with a refrigeration unit;

(26) ‘leakage detection system’ means a calibrated mechanical, electrical or electronic device for detecting leakage of fluorinated greenhouse gases which, on detection, alerts the operator;

(27) ‘undertaking’ means any natural or legal person which carries out an activity referred to in this Regulation;

(28) ‘feedstock’ means any fluorinated greenhouse gas listed in Annex I or II, that undergoes chemical transformation in a process in which it is entirely converted from its original composition and whose emissions are insignificant;

(29) ‘commercial use’ means use for the storage, display or dispensing of products, for sale to end users, in retail and food services;

(30) ‘fire protection equipment’ means the equipment and systems utilised in fire prevention or suppression applications and includes fire extinguishers;

(31) ‘organic Rankine cycle’ means a cycle containing condensable substances converting heat from a heat source into power for the generation of electric or mechanical energy;

(32) ‘military equipment’ means arms, munitions and material intended specifically for military purposes which are necessary for the protection of the essential interests of the security of Member States;

(33) ‘electrical switchgear’ means switching devices and the combination of such devices with associated control, measuring, protective and regulating equipment, and assemblies of such devices and equipment with associated interconnections, accessories, enclosures and supporting structures, intended for usage in connection with the generation, transmission, distribution and conversion of electric energy;

(34) ‘multipack centralised refrigeration systems’ means systems with two or more compressors operated in parallel, which are connected to one or more common condensers and to a number of cooling devices such as display cases, cabinets and freezers, or to chilled store rooms;

(35) ‘primary refrigerant circuit of cascade systems’ means the primary circuit in indirect medium temperature systems where a combination of two or more separate refrigeration circuits are connected in series such that the primary circuit absorbs the condenser heat from a secondary circuit for the medium temperature;

(36) ‘use’ means, in relation to fluorinated greenhouse gases, their utilisation in the production, maintenance or servicing, including refilling, of products and equipment, or in other activities and processes referred to in this Regulation;

(37) ‘establishment within the Union’ means, in relation to a natural person, for that person to have his or her habitual residence in the Union and, in relation to a legal person, for that person to have a permanent business establishment as referred to in Article 5, point (32), of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 in the Union;

(38) ‘self-contained’ means a complete factory-made system which is in a suitable frame or casing, is fabricated and transported complete or in two or more sections, can contain isolation valves and in which no gas-containing parts are connected on site;

(39) ‘split system’ means a system consisting of a number of refrigerant piped units that form a separate but interconnected unit, requiring the installation and connection of refrigerant circuit components at the point of use;

(40) ‘air-conditioning’ means the process of treating air to meet the requirements of a conditioned space by controlling its temperature, humidity, cleanliness or distribution;

(41) ‘heat pump’ means a piece of equipment capable of using ambient heat or waste heat from air, water or ground sources to provide heat or cooling and is based on the interconnection of one or more components forming a closed cooling circuit in which a refrigerant circulates to extract and release heat;

(42) ‘safety requirements’ means requirements on the safety of using fluorinated greenhouse gases and natural refrigerants or products and equipment containing or relying on them, prohibiting the use of certain fluorinated greenhouse gases or their alternatives, including when contained in a product or in equipment at a specific place of intended utilisation due to site and application specificities that are set out in: (a) Union or national law; or (b) a non-legally binding act containing technical documentation or standards that have to be applied to ensure safety at the specific location, provided that they are in accordance with relevant Union or national law;

(43) ‘refrigeration’ means the process of maintaining or lowering the temperature of a product, substance, system or other item;

(44) ‘chiller’ means a single system whose primary function is to cool a heat transfer fluid (such as water, glycol, brine or CO2) for refrigeration, process, preservation or comfort purposes;

(45) ‘foam panel’ means a structure made of layers containing a foam and a rigid material, such as wood or metal, bound to one or both sides;

(46) ‘laminated board’ means a foam board that is covered by a thin layer of a non-rigid material, such as plastic.

CHAPTER II

Containment

Article 4

Prevention of emissions

If an intentional release is technically necessary for the intended use, operators of equipment that contains fluorinated greenhouse gases or of facilities where fluorinated greenhouse gases are used shall take all measures that are technically and economically feasible to prevent, to the extent possible, their release into the atmosphere, including by recapturing the gases emitted.

Where the equipment is subject to leak checks under Article 5(1) and a leak in the equipment has been repaired, the operators of the equipment shall ensure that the equipment is checked by a natural person who is certified in accordance with Article 10 at the earliest after an operating time of 24 hours has elapsed but not later than 1 month after the repair to verify that the repair has been effective. For mobile equipment listed in Article 5(3), points (a), (b) and (c), a leak check may be carried out directly after a repair.

For the purpose of providing that evidence, producers and importers shall draw up a declaration of conformity, accompanied by supporting documentation:

(a) establishing the origin of the fluorinated greenhouse gases to be placed on the market;

(b) identifying the production facility of origin of the fluorinated greenhouse gases to be placed on the market, including an identification of those facilities of origin of any precursor substances that involve the generation of chlorodifluoromethane (R-22) as part of the production process to produce the fluorinated greenhouse gases to be placed on the market;

(c) proving the availability and operation of the abatement technology at the facilities of origin equivalent to UNFCCC-approved baseline methodology AM0001 for incineration of trifluoromethane waste streams or proving the capture and destruction methodology that ensured that emissions of trifluoromethane are destroyed in accordance with the requirements under the Protocol;

(d) on any additional information facilitating the tracking of the fluorinated greenhouse gas prior to import.

Producers and importers shall keep the declaration of conformity and supporting documentation for a period of at least 5 years from the placing on the market and make them available, upon request, to the competent authority of the Member State concerned or to the Commission.

The Commission may, by means of implementing acts, determine the detailed arrangements relating to the declaration of conformity and supporting documentation referred to in the second subparagraph. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 34(2).

Legal persons carrying out the installation, maintenance or servicing, repair or decommissioning of the equipment listed in Article 5(2), points (a) to (e), and Article 5(3), points (a) and (b), shall be certified in accordance with Article 10 and shall take precautionary measures to prevent leakage of fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I and Section 1 of Annex II.

Natural persons carrying out the maintenance or servicing and repair of air-conditioning equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gases in motor vehicles falling within the scope of Directive 2006/40/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (¹) and of mobile equipment listed in Article 5(3), point (c), of this Regulation shall hold at least a training attestation in accordance with Article 10(1), second subparagraph, of this Regulation.

Article 5

Leak checks

Hermetically sealed equipment shall not be checked for leaks provided that it is labelled as hermetically sealed equipment and that it complies with one of the following conditions:

(a) it contains less than 10 tonnes of CO2 equivalent of fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I; or

(b) it contains less than 2 kilograms of fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Section 1 of Annex II.

By way of derogation from the second subparagraph, where hermetically sealed equipment is installed in residential buildings, it shall not be checked for leaks where that equipment contains less than 3 kilograms of fluorinated greenhouse gases provided that it is labelled as hermetically sealed.

Electrical switchgear shall not be checked for leaks provided that it complies with one of the following conditions:

(a) it has a tested leakage rate of less than 0,1 % per year as set out in the technical specification of the manufacturer and is labelled accordingly;

(b) it is equipped with a pressure or density monitoring device with an automatic alert system while in operation;

(c) it contains less than 6 kilograms of fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I.

Paragraph 1 shall apply to operators and manufacturers of the following stationary equipment that contains fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I or in Section 1 of Annex II:

(a) refrigeration equipment;

(b) air-conditioning equipment;

(c) heat pumps;

(d) fire protection equipment;

(e) organic Rankine cycles;

(f) electrical switchgear.

Paragraph 1 shall apply to operators and manufacturers of the following mobile equipment that contains fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I or in Section 1 of Annex II:

(a) refrigeration units of refrigerated trucks and refrigerated trailers;

(b) refrigeration units of refrigerated light-duty vehicles, intermodal containers, including reefers, and train wagons;

(c) air-conditioning equipment and heat pumps in heavy duty vehicles, vans, non-road mobile machinery used in agriculture, mining and construction operations, trains, metros, trams and aircraft.

As regards the equipment referred to in paragraph 2, points (a) to (e), and points (a) and (b) of this paragraph, the checks shall be carried out by natural persons certified in accordance with Article 10.

The leak checks referred to in paragraph 1 shall be carried out with the following frequency:

(a) for equipment that contains less than 50 tonnes of CO2 equivalent of fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I or less than 10 kilograms of fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Section 1 of Annex II: at least every 12 months; or where a leakage detection system is installed in such equipment, at least every 24 months;

(b) for equipment that contains 50 tonnes of CO2 equivalent or more, but less than 500 tonnes of CO2 equivalent of fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I or 10 kilograms or more, but less than 100 kilograms of fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Section 1 of Annex II: at least every 6 months or, where a leakage detection system is installed in such equipment, at least every 12 months;

(c) for equipment that contains 500 tonnes of CO2 equivalent or more of fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I or 100 kilograms or more of fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Section 1 of Annex II: at least every 3 months or, where a leakage detection system is installed in such equipment, at least every 6 months.