BIORIUS Information Letter 124: The council of the European Union agreed on a new regulatory proposal for the regulation of fluorinated greenhouse gases, and it will soon be adopted.

The council of the European Union agreed on new text for the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on fluorinated greenhouse gases, amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 517/2014. This text has is an amended version of the text proposed the parliament in March 2023.

The regulation project has been partly adopted at the first reading at the EU parliament in March 2023. But the parliament introduced numerous and significant amendments to the initial regulatory proposal, and the text has been rediscussed at the EU council level. An amended text, embedding the amendments of the parliament has been agreed at the EU council level on oct 19^th, 2023 and this new regulatory proposal will be resubmitted to the EU parliament for adoption soon.

The ban

It is worth noticing some important changes that impact cosmetics in the new text that will soon be submitted to the vote for adoption. The changes are here below. In essence, the regulation proposal states that:

The market of products and equipment, including parts thereof, corresponding to personal care products (e.g., mousse, creams, foams, liquids, sprays) containing fluorinated greenhouse gases shall be prohibited from 1 January 2025.

This ban applies to all Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases listed in annex I, II, and III of the regulation proposal (provided at the end of this info letter for convenience).

Transition periods

One year following the prohibition deadline, the subsequent supply or making available to another party in the Union for payment or free of charge of products or equipment lawfully placed on the market prior to 1 January 2025 shall be allowed only if evidence is provided that the product or equipment was placed lawfully on the market prior to this date.

We strongly encourage you to replace as soon as possible, any Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases that might be present in finished product you put on the market, since deadlines to comply with the regulation will be quite tight.

Annexes IL-124 – Fluorinated GHG ban in cosmetics:

We hope that this will be of help and stay at your disposal for any questions related to this topic. Should you have any question, please, feel free to contact your dedicated Customer Relationship Manager.