F-GASES REGULATION

Early day motion 800, tabled 10 March 2004 by David Drew (Labour/Co-operative). Signed by 73 members.

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.

Signatures by party: Labour 42, Liberal Democrat 16, Conservative 8, Labour/Co-operative 4, UUP 2, Plaid Cymru 1.