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Early day motion tabled by primary sponsor David Drew (Labour and Co-operative Party), on Wednesday, 10 March 2004, in the House of Commons. It is signed by 73 members in total.

F-GASES REGULATION

That this House notes that hydrofluorocarbon chemicals used in refrigeration and air-conditioning have on average 2,274 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide; recalls the statement, firstly, in the UK Climate Change Programme that 'HFCs are not sustainable in the long term', and secondly by the Deputy Prime Minister, the Right honourable Member for Hull East on 9th March 2000, that the UK's plan for implementing the Kyoto Protocol included 'a clear signal to industry that HFCs have no long-term future'; therefore expresses concern that in its 'Regulation on Certain Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases', the European Commission is in danger of missing the opportunity to accelerate the replacement of HFCs by alternatives; questions both the Commission's and the UK Government's reliance on a policy of HFC leakage containment; therefore welcomes the publication by Atlantic Consulting on 26th February of the report 'HFC Containment Has Already Failed', which 'calls into question the use of containment as a policy tool for controlling HFC emissions'; and calls on the Government to act in accordance with its past commitments and the present evidence to safeguard the planet's future.

Amendments

The Early day motion has received 2 amendments.

800A1
Line 1, leave out from 'House' to end and add, 'reconises that HFCs are often vital to our daily lives not only in refrigeration and air conditioning appliances, but also in waterless fire extinguishers and as propellant for inhalers used in the treatment of asthma; expresses disappointment with the inaccuracy of the recent study publishes by Climate Action Network Europe which claims that 'HFC containment has already failed'; notes that the report misrepresents published data and fails to recognise the success of existing HFC emission reduction schemes that are in place in Europe; recognises that the leakage rates in the Netherlands have fallen from 30 per cent in the early 1990s to an average level of 4.8 per cent at present; endorses the recent publication by McCulloch et al in 'Atmospheric Environment' which states that significantly less HFCs are used to replace the same amount of CFCs, which are banned because of their impact on the ozone layer and that HFCs are being made to work much harder as technology is developed; further notes that HFCs should be used only where other safe, technically feasible, cost effective and more environmentally acceptable alternatives do not exist; and where HFCs are used, calls on the Government to focus on containment to prevent gas leakage, as in The Netherlands and elsewhere as the best approach to reduce the environmental impact arising from these important applications.'
800A2
Line 1, delete from 'House' to end and insert 'recognises that HFCs are often vital to our daily lives not only in refrigeration and air conditioning appliances, but also in waterless fire extinguishers and as propellant for inhalers used in the treatment of asthma; expresses disappointment with the inaccuracy of the recent study published by Atlantic Consulting and publicised by CAN Europe, which claims that 'HFC containment has already failed'; notes that the report misrepresents published data and fails to recognise the success of existing HFC emission reduction schemes that are in place in Europe; recognises that the leakage rates in the Netherlands have fallen from 30 per cent in the early 1990s to an average level of 4.8 per cent at present; endorses the recent publication by McCulloch et al in 'Atmospheric Environment' which states that significantly less HFCs are used to replace the same amount of CFCs, which are being banned because of their impact on the ozone layer and that HFCs are being made to work much harder as technology is developed; further notes that HFCs should be used where other safe, technically feasible, cost effective and more environmentally acceptable alternatives do not exist; and where HFCs are used, calls on the Government to focus on containment as the best approach to reduce the environmental impact of these applications, based on the comprehensive data from Europe.'

Secondary information

Type
Early day motion
Reference
800 
800A1 
800A2 
Session
2003-04
Subjects
Hydrofluorocarbons EU action Pollution control
Link
View this Early day motion on www.parliament.uk