What policy changes will affect the 2018 European air-conditioning refrigeration industry?

The Montreal Protocol's Kigali Amendment came into effect soon, and this year will be an important year for the European HVAC and refrigeration industry.

The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol will enter into force on January 1, 2019. According to the timetable set by the Kigali Amendment, developed countries will cut 85% of HFCs consumption at baseline by 2036.

In fact, EU countries have been actively reducing HFCs since 2015 under the framework of the EU's new fluorine gas bill. In 2018, the EU's HFCs quota will show the biggest decline.

“The biggest reduction in EU cuts occurred in 2017-2018, and the overall quota will fall from 93% of the baseline level to 63%,” said Arno Kaschl, Policy Officer, Directorate General of Climate Action of the European Commission.

“In addition, since January 2017, HFCs for imported prefilled equipment have also been included in the quota system, which has also reduced the available quota to some extent,” he said.

The reduction in HFCs quotas is expected to lead to a surge in refrigerant prices in Europe.

However, the EU also needs to compete with other policy changes that may shake the HVAC and refrigeration sectors. Under the new EU state aid rules, support for decentralized natural gas combined heating and power plants will expire by the end of 2018.

“After this failure, this may have a major impact on the electricity and heating prices in the district heating and power plant districts,” said Thomas Capral Henriksen, chief consultant of the Danish Energy Association. The Danish Energy Association represents Danish energy companies, including power suppliers and distributors, as well as large district heating suppliers.

In order to solve the above problems, Denmark is providing subsidies for small combined heating and power plants that install large electric heat pumps.

The EU will continue to discuss its revised Building Energy Efficiency Directive to encourage energy efficiency improvements. According to a press release from the Council of Europe, the revision of the Building Energy Efficiency Directive relates to the HVAC and refrigeration sector. “The inspection of heating and air conditioning systems in buildings has been simplified”.

The revised Building Energy Efficiency Directive is expected to be final approved early this year. Once formally adopted, the directive will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union, and this directive will take effect 20 days later.

The Building Energy Efficiency Directive is part of the EU Energy Plan. On November 30, 2016, the European Commission put forward a series of specific proposals for energy reform plans to realize the energy alliance strategy as an important force for the EU to address climate change.

The meeting of the Council of Europe members in June 2017 agreed to amend the Energy Efficiency Directive, which will increase EU energy efficiency by 30% between 2026 and 2030. The final agreement is expected to be reached in 2018.

Brexit may hinder all these policy negotiations, as the EU continues to negotiate with the British government on Brexit. (Compiled from hydrocarbons21.com, Author: Charlotte McLaughlin)