«80% of air conditioners need to be replaced».Confindustria alarm for homes and offices:the accusation against EU rules

The FdI group leader in the Chamber, Tommaso Foti, presented a resolution to commit the government to oppose the measure in Brussels

The European Union's plan to accelerate the elimination of hydrofluorocarbons - also called "F-gas" - is alarming some sectors of Italian industry.He reports it today The Messenger, according to which Brussels' new regulatory crackdown risks having direct consequences on air conditioners, heat pumps and refrigeration systems used by supermarkets.The sector that deals with the maintenance or conversion of all these plants, the newspaper reconstructs, «contributes 0.5% to the Italian GDP, a turnover of approximately 8 billion euros and employs up to 140 thousand people» .Last March 30, the European Parliament approved the new law by a very large majority regulation on F-gases, which envisages a stop in many sectors by the end of the decade and their complete elimination by 2050.The text received the preliminary yes of the European Chamber and is now preparing to be negotiated during the interinstitutional negotiations.

The Italian battle against the regulation

Through one official note, Confindustria speaks of measures «not adequate to build an effective, pragmatic and implementable regulation».The industrialists therefore put forward their own proposals:review the short-term intermediate objectives, provide resources for the training of assistance technicians and backtrack on the ban on exports to non-EU countries.Also expressing a critical opinion towards the European Commission's proposed regulation is the group leader of the Fratelli d'Italia in the Chamber Tommaso Foti, who presented a resolution in recent days to commit the government to leading the "battle of air conditioners" in Europe .

«Although it contains fully acceptable environmental objectives, the proposal will produce harmful effects.Furthermore, the text approved by the EU Parliament will cause the majority of systems currently on the market to exit the market."Second The Messenger, approximately 80% of the air conditioners currently in use would have to be scrapped.What is worrying is the fact that from 1 January 2024 there will be an obligation "to replace stationary refrigeration systems (those used by supermarkets, grocery stores, the food industry, hospitals, and countless other cases) instead of their maintenance, since the only gases allowed by the new Maintenance Regulation are incompatible with the vast majority of installed systems", explains Foti in his resolution.

What are F-gases

Brussels' crackdown on fluorinated gases is part of the package of measures envisaged by the European Green Deal.«Fluorinated gases – we read on site of the European Environment Agency – are artificial gases used in a wide range of industrial applications and are often used as substitutes for substances that damage the ozone layer.However, fluorinated gases are potent greenhouse gases, with an even higher warming potential than carbon dioxide.They therefore contribute significantly to climate change."Hence Brussels' decision to provide more stringent rules, promoting alternative solutions.«We are giving a clear signal to the market and a push to invest in alternatives.Many European companies are already at the forefront of this development and will benefit from it", explained Dutch Green MEP Bas Eickhout, rapporteur of the proposal.

Photo credits:UNSPLASH/Carlos Lindner