Annual inventory of refrigerant emissions for France – métropole reports decreasing HFC emissions

The Alliance Froid Climatisation Environnement (AFCE) has published the 2023 annual refrigerant report for metropolitan France, commissioned from Citepa, with results for 2024 being a provisional estimate. The September 2025 report has these results:

• The overall share of HFC fluorinated fluids in global CO₂ emissions, represents 2.3% of total greenhouse gases emitted, with RACHP about 84% of fluorinated greenhouse gases.
• The total refrigerant bank in metropolitan France is growing steadily, reaching 67,000 tonnes in 2023, of which 14% were non-fluorinated refrigerants.
• A gradual increase in the use of HFOs is also being observed, representing 13% of the total refrigerant bank in 2023 and has increased by 19%, compared to 2022.
• Total refrigerant emissions in metropolitan France include emissions at all stages of the equipment's life cycle: during charging, during the equipment's operational life, and during its dismantling at the end of its life. Emissions are estimated at 5,910 tonnes in 2023, a decrease of 1.7% compared to 2022, which also corresponds to the trend in HFC emissions. HFCs and HFOs are 5,183 tonnes of the total. In 2024 total emissions are expected to continue their downward trend, decreasing by around 1.5%.
• Refrigerant emissions are estimated at 7.1 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (AR5), including 7.0 million tonnes of HFCs in 2023. These emissions, as CO₂e, have been declining with an average decrease of 12% per year over the period 2018-2023. The initial estimate for 2024 is 6.4 million tonnes CO₂
• Total refrigerant demand is estimated at 7,800 tonnes for 2023, including 5,700 tonnes of HFCs and 1,100 tonnes of HFOs, with non-fluorinated refrigerants accounting for 13% of total demand in 2023 (approximately 1,000 tonnes). Demand for high-GWP HFCs is declining due to retrofits, system upgrades, and lower emission levels.
• Maintenance needs for existing systems have been declining since 2018. Historically, maintenance needs represented two-thirds of total demand, but in recent years. demand for new installations and maintenance have each been about half.
• Since 2018, the calculated demand is higher than the declared market, and the gap is widening considerably. This suggests that part of the need, for maintenance, is not being met, or is being met by refrigerants recycled directly or from the illicit market.

The Refrigerant Report September 2025 is available at September 2025 report: Refrigerants – AFCE – Alliance Froid Climatisation Environnement