China Strengthens Control of HFC Production for Kigali Amendment Implementation

8 July 2024 - Today China issued a new policy document aimed at strengthening the management of production facilities for all eighteen hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) currently controlled under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer. All are listed  This new document, the Circular on Strictly Controlling HFC Chemical Production Construction Projects (hereinafter referred to as “the Circular”), includes the following key measures, effective as of 1 August 2024:

• A prohibition on new construction or expansion of production facilities for thirteen, listed controlled HFCs (except for facilities that already have an approved environmental impact assessment);[i]

• In situations where there is a need for existing listed HFC production facilities to modify or construct a production facility at a different site, a prohibition on increasing the original HFC production capacity or approved HFC listings as a result;

• A clarification that HFCs produced from trial production at the production facilities are included in the HFC quota system; as a result, HFCs produced from the trial production can only be used or sold after the facilities have been approved and have obtained the corresponding quotas;

• A clarification that, for facilities that produce HFCs as by-products, by-produced HFCs are included in the government’s quota management system; accordingly, if a quota has not been obtained for the by-produced HFCs, they can only be used for feedstock purposes or destroyed; direct emissions of the HFCs is prohibited; and

• A requirement that the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, along with other relevant government departments, must approve HFC production for exempted uses.

[i] This requirement applies to the thirteen controlled HFCs listed in Appendix I to the Circular. It complements the Circular on Strictly Controlling the First Batch of HFC Production Construction Projects issued in December 2021, prohibiting—as of 1 January 2022—construction or expansion of production facilities for five categories of HFCs, including HFC-32, HFC-134a, HFC-125, HFC-143a and HFC-245fa. Additionally, Appendix II to the Circular lists all eighteen HFCs controlled under the Kigali Amendment.