Press Release: Climate change: Commission welcomes political agreement in the Council to reduce emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases

The European Commission welcomed the political agreement reached in the Council on 14 October 2004 to reduce emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases. Fluorinated gases are extremely powerful and long-lived greenhouse gases used in refrigeration, air conditioning, fire-fighting and various industry processes. The reduction of their emissions is a requirement under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and will help the EU and its Member States meet their Kyoto emission targets and reduce emissions further after 2012. The legislation agreed on 14 October 2004 includes a Directive dealing with fluorinated gases used in air conditioning systems in vehicles, and a Regulation tackling stationary applications, based on a proposal made by the European Commission in August 2003.

The legislation agreed today is another