EFCTC launches socioeconomic assessment of PFAS restriction on F-gas sector
EFCTC has commissioned the consulting company Ricardo to undertake an independent Socio-Economic Analysis (SEA) of the contribution of certain fluorinated gases (F-gases) to the economy and wider society. By 13th January 2023, 5 countries (DK, NL, DE, NO and SE) will submit a new proposal to restrict PFAS that will likely include most F-gases, although the extent of this restriction is yet to be entirely defined and can still change along the consultation process. The intention is to submit the SEA to ECHA during the public consultation planned for 2023, to be made available to the Committees in the context of their opinion-forming process on the proposed restriction.
Work to engage with our stakeholders, including trade associations, started in January, and a survey will be launched on 4th April. The aim is to assess the impact on F-gases in the scope, due to a restriction, and use that in the SEA as supportive evidence of their value. A webinar has already been held to better explain the survey to stakeholders. The high level of interest resulted in 14 trade associations and 28 companies participating in the webinar and they will receive questionnaires to enable them to contribute to the independent SEA.
F-gases in scope of the SEA (and any mixture containing them):
–HFC-125, -134a, -143a, -227ea, -245fa, -365mfc
–HFO-1234yf, -1234ze, -1336mzz
–HCFO-1233zd