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Illegal refrigerant gases, which have been banned for their climate-wrecking impact, are still being smuggled into Europe, the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has warned.
The EIA first uncovered a widespread European illegal trade in hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) gases five years ago, but a new investigation has revealed that significant levels of trafficking persist despite worsening climate change.
Commonly used in refrigeration and air conditioning, HFCs are being phased out under the European Union’s F-gas regulation.
But the EIA said that organised criminals attracted by high profits are taking advantage of weak law enforcement to meet the demand left by the transition away from the harmful gases. Their investigation also found evidence that black market traders and traffickers are becoming more sophisticated and adapting their tactics to evade detection.
The 1989 Montreal Protocol, signed by 198 countries, mandated phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
HFCs do not contain chlorine, which means they do not cause ozone depletion, and were routinely being used to replace CFCs as a refrigerant. However, it later emerged that HFCs are powerful greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. This prompted the creation of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol in 2016, which obliged countries to phase out their production too.
A previous report found that Romania was a key entry point for the illegal substances arriving in the EU. The latest investigation uncovered evidence that traders are primarily sourcing HFCs from Turkey and China.
Trafficked from Bulgaria and other countries on the edge of the bloc, these chemicals are smuggled across the continent to destinations such as Greece, Germany, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
The new investigation, in part conducted undercover, demonstrated that traders are becoming smarter at dodging detection, employing tactics such as avoiding banned disposable cylinders and disguising HFCs as less-regulated hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) refrigerant alternatives.
EIA senior climate campaigner Fin Walravens warned that the illegal HFC trade not only exacerbates climate change but has also been linked to significant tax evasion.
“The EU has recently revised its F-gas regulation, offering enforcement agencies additional tools to combat illegal trade – but these will only work if they are implemented quickly and effectively,” she said.
“As 2024 signals another reduction in HFC supply to EU markets, this risks fuelling demand for illegal HFCs. There is an urgent need for coordinated, proactive enforcement efforts across the EU to combat HFC climate crime.”
The EIA called on the European Commission and all EU member states to prioritise increasing enforcement to prevent the illegal trade.
Walravens added: “There is a clear need to invest and strengthen monitoring, reporting, verification and enforcement under the Montreal Protocol and to build capacity in developing countries to ensure it is fit to meet the complex challenges posed by the global HFC phase-down.”
