EU Closes Car Air Conditioner Regulatory Loophole, Earth's Climate Wins

car air conditioning ac dash photo
Photo: Flickr, CC

It Took a While, But They Did It...
The European Union just closed a loophole that would've allowed European carmakers to keep using climate-hurting chemicals in their vehicle's air conditioners. "The European Union ruled in 2006 that from 2011 it would ban the use of fluorinated chemicals, such as the industry standard known as R134a, which have a powerful climate-warming effect when released into the atmosphere." But the loophole would've allowed these chemicals to be used until 2017. Was it just an honest mistake, or the result of lobbying?

The problem was that many EU states decided not to enforce the ban on new vehicle that were using A/C systems already approved in previous models. In effect, the clause about new vehicles would've been rendered toothless and this would've gone against the spirit of the rule.

What's the New Rule for European Car A/Cs?
The new revised rule states that from January 1, 2011, EU states may only approve new vehicle models using the green chemicals, regardless of whether the air conditioning system has been approved before, the EU executive added.

Sounds like just boring regulatory paper shuffling, but it's certainly a win for the Earth's climate (or rather, those who depend on it).

Via Reuters

More Transportation Articles
Toyota Claims Over 20,000 Pre-Orders for 2010 Toyota Prius Hybrid
Breathtaking! First Crossing of the Alps by a Solar Plane
New York City's First On-Street, Two-Way, Physically Separated Bike Lane
"Just 15 of the world's biggest ships may now emit as much pollution as all the world's 760m cars"