EU Targets Man-Made Greenhouse Gases in Climate Neutrality Push

(Bloomberg) -- The European Union will ramp up curbs on man-made gases found in refrigerators, building materials and electrical equipment in a bid to slash emissions that have a greater warming effect on the planet than carbon dioxide.

The Commission proposed on Tuesday to speed up the reduction of fluorinated greenhouse gases and ozone depleting substances, in measures designed to slash emissions equivalent to an additional 490 million tons of CO2 by the middle of the century. That's roughly the same as France's total annual greenhouse gas output.

It marks the latest effort by the EU to cut greenhouse gases other than CO2, as it attempts to reach climate neutrality over the coming three decades. In December, the bloc proposed measures to curb methane, which is one of the most potent greenhouse gases.

The bloc aims to accelerate the reduction of new hydrofluorocarbons -- which have a global warming potential thousands of times stronger than CO2 -- and introduce new prohibitions on their use, with the aim of reducing their heating impact by 98% by 2050. Globally, a phase-down of HFCs is seen as avoiding around 0.4 degrees Celsius of temperature rises by the end of the century.

“Making climate-friendly technologies more widely available will help us reach the EU's long-term climate goals,” said Frans Timmermans, the EU's climate chief. “Science urges us to go further and faster now.”

Cutting hydroflurocarbons is a quick-fire way to reduce global warming given its potency, yet relatively short lifespan. Others like perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride though, can remain in the atmosphere for thousands of years. So-called F-gas emissions in the EU have declined since 2014.

Under a separate measure Tuesday, the Commission proposed to tighten regulation on emissions and pollution that are not covered by the bloc's carbon trading system and produced by big factories, power plants and livestock farms. Member states will need to set stricter criteria for the technologies used to reduce emissions like methane and refrigerants, while operators will have to show how they plan to meet the EU's pollution goals after 2030, it said.

The Industrial Emissions Directive will also be expanded to cover cattle farms, targeting methane and ammonia emissions in particular. Around 850 mining sites may now be covered by the rules, as well as almost 100 battery factories. Citizens meanwhile will have more scope to seek compensation if their health is affected by unlawful pollution.

“If operators fail to meet their obligations, citizens get better access to legal redress and compensation,” said Virginijus Sinkevicius, Commissioner for the Environment. “These rules are designed to make our economy more efficient and more sustainable.”