The committee said that the use of fluorinated gases should be banned in new refrigerators by 2020, according to a vote on draft legislation in the Environment Committee this week.
Overall use of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) greenhouse gases should be reduced 84% by 2030, said MEPs.
European Partnership for Energy and the Environment (EPEE) said the parliament had asked for the impossible and “does not care who pays the bill”.
However, the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) said the vote to strengthen the proposed F-Gas Regulation will give a real incentive for a market transition to climate-friendly alternatives.
Alternatives include non-fluorinated alternatives such as CO2, hydro-carbons, ammonia and HFO’s.
Phase out plan
The committee proposes to phase out the use of F-gases between 2015 and 2020 in sectors where safe, energy-efficient and cost-effective alternatives are available.
It proposed charging producers a fee of up to €10 per tonne of CO2 equivalent for the HFCs they use.
The Environment Committee voted to give a green light for the rapporteur to open negotiations with member states and if Council adopts a common position in July, talks can begin after the summer recess.
MEPs said that overall use of HFCs must be reduced to 16% of current consumption by 2030, where the commission had suggested 21%.
European Commission (EC) stopped short of a muted ban on HFCs in refrigerants in November last year, opting for a phase down that introduced lower limit benchmarks leading up to 2030.
Before the decision was made, GEA and Arkema gave their views on how they saw the marketplace.
Mixed reaction
The EPEE said industry already supported an ambitious climate change law to radically reduce F-gas emissions by 65% by 2030.
“We are very disappointed that the Environment Committee has chosen the course of command and control politics with the highest price tag that Europeans will have to pay for,” said Andrea Voigt, representing the industry body.
EPEE added its members are looking for the optimal refrigerant solution, but there are none suitable for all applications, so laws need to be flexible to cope with the technologies and sectors involved.
EEB said that the alternative technologies are produced by European companies, some are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the Environment Committee wants to boost this home-grown market.
Susanna Williams, EEB policy officer for Energy and Climate Change, said: “The bans, coupled with a strong phase-down schedule, will assure the producers of alternative technologies that investing in increased production will pay off.
“This will bring down the upfront costs of such equipment and products and make them an economically sound choice while reducing the climate impact of the sectors.”