Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases (F-Gases)

US EPA Finalises AIM Act Technology Transitions Revisions and Proposes HFC Leak-Repair Exemption for Transport Refrigeration

In May 2026, the US Environmental Protection Agency finalised revisions to its AIM Act Technology Transitions rule for HFC refrigerants and proposed exempting road and intermodal transport refrigeration units from HFC leak-repair requirements under the Emissions Reduction and Reclamation rule. These moves ease near-term compliance costs for supermarkets, cold-chain logistics, HVAC manufacturers, semiconductor fabs, and other HFC users while keeping the federal HFC phasedown in place, so companies should revisit equipment investment, refrigerant-transition roadmaps, and leak-management strategies in the United States.

24 May 2026, 20:43content.govdelivery.comUnited States

US EPA Extends HFC Technology Transition Deadlines and Plans Corrections to Emissions Reduction and Reclamation Rule

The White House has announced that EPA will extend key hydrofluorocarbon technology transition deadlines and seek to ease leak management requirements under its 2023 Technology Transitions and 2024 Emissions Reduction and Reclamation rules. If confirmed through EPA rulemakings, these changes would materially relax US HFC compliance obligations for supermarkets, cold-chain operators and HVAC manufacturers, lowering near-term costs but potentially shifting climate-related regulatory risk over the medium term.

24 May 2026, 20:41whitehouse.govUnited States

Ukraine Updates Unified State Register of Operators of Controlled Substances (Annex as of 19 May 2026)

Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy has issued an updated annex to the Unified State Register of Operators of Controlled Substances, reflecting the officially recognised list of authorised operators as of 19 May 2026. Companies handling ozone-depleting substances or fluorinated greenhouse gases in Ukraine should confirm their registration status in the new annex and ensure continued compliance with associated licensing, reporting, and labelling requirements.

22 May 2026, 18:51me.gov.uaUkraine

Ukraine Publishes Draft Law To Ratify Kigali Amendment To The Montreal Protocol

Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy has released a draft law to ratify the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, signalling a renewed 2026 push to join the global phase-down of hydrofluorocarbon greenhouse gases. If adopted, Ukraine will need to manage and progressively reduce hydrofluorocarbon use across refrigeration, air conditioning and related supply chains, driving future regulatory changes for chemicals producers, importers and equipment manufacturers.

21 May 2026, 06:40me.gov.uaUkraine

Ukraine Launches Consultation On Draft Law To Ratify Kigali Amendment To The Montreal Protocol

Ukraine has opened a one-month public consultation on a draft law to ratify the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer, signalling its intention to make this amendment legally binding nationally. If adopted and implemented, this ratification will align Ukraine with global controls under the Kigali Amendment and foreshadow tighter long-term requirements for ozone-depleting substances and related fluorinated gases in affected supply chains.

21 May 2026, 06:36me.gov.uaUkraine

Netherlands Sets 2026 Climate and Green Growth Legislative Planning, Including F-Gases Sanctions Bill

The Dutch government has issued a 2026 planning letter for the Climate and Green Growth portfolio, flagging a packed pipeline of bills and policy papers including an F-gases sanctions bill and implementation steps for the Net Zero Industry Act, RED III, EU ETS and critical raw materials strategies. This roadmap gives energy-intensive and chemical operators in the Netherlands early sight of when major climate and decarbonisation measures will move, enabling proactive compliance planning, investments and advocacy before detailed obligations land.

20 May 2026, 19:57zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nlNetherlands

Great Britain: Environment Agency Indexes F-Gas and Ozone-Depleting Substances Charges to CPI From 1 April 2027

From 19 May 2026 the Environment Agency’s fluorinated greenhouse gases and ozone-depleting substances charging scheme hardwires annual CPI-linked increases in all application, declaration and subsistence fees from 1 April 2027 onwards. This locks in rising regulatory cost for F-gas and ODS operators across Great Britain, so businesses should plan for higher recurring compliance charges in pricing, contracts and budget forecasts.

20 May 2026, 19:56gov.ukUnited Kingdom

Great Britain: Defra Confirms No 2026 Legislation To Change 2027 HFC Phasedown Step

Defra has issued a May 2026 public statement confirming that it will not bring forward legislation in 2026 to change the hydrofluorocarbon phasedown steps applying from 1 January 2027 in Great Britain. This gives HFC producers and users short-term certainty on 2027 quotas while signalling that more ambitious phasedown reforms and a government response report will follow later in 2026.

18 May 2026, 15:12gov.ukUnited Kingdom

California Senate Appropriations Committee Advances SB-1010 Refrigerant Stewardship and Recovery Act

In May 2026, the California Senate Appropriations Committee advanced SB-1010, the Refrigerant Stewardship and Recovery Act, by voting it out of committee for third reading. If enacted, the bill would create a producer-funded statewide programme for end-of-life recovery and destruction of refrigerants in household appliances, imposing new compliance duties on manufacturers and importers and strengthening California’s climate and waste-management regime.

16 May 2026, 14:47leginfo.legislature.ca.govUnited States

UN Ozone Secretariat Outlines Key Issues for Montreal Protocol Working Group’s Forty-Eighth Meeting in Bangkok

UNEP’s Ozone Secretariat has released the issues paper for the July 2026 meeting of the Montreal Protocol’s Open-ended Working Group, setting out negotiation topics on Multilateral Fund replenishment, halon fire-suppression use, low-global-warming-potential inhalers, atmospheric monitoring, HFC-23 emissions, Kigali Amendment implementation, and management of recycled, reused and unwanted controlled substances ahead of the Kigali Meeting of the Parties. This signals likely tightening of funding, monitoring and reclamation expectations for ozone-depleting substances and HFCs over the next replenishment period, so companies using relevant refrigerants, fire suppressants and inhaler propellants should monitor outcomes for potential impacts on financing eligibility, reporting and cross-border movement of controlled substances.

15 May 2026, 16:20ozone.unep.orgGlobal

California CARB Opens Public Comment on Boeing Variance to Continue HFC-245fa Use in Spray Foam

In May 2026, the California Air Resources Board opened a 30-day public consultation on Boeing’s request for an impossibility variance under the California HFC Regulation to continue using HFC-245fa spray foam despite a state prohibition. If granted, the variance would allow limited, offset-backed HFC-245fa use in NASA space-launch applications through 2040, so climate and chemicals teams should assess their exposure to similar HFC restrictions and the precedent this decision might set for future exemptions.

15 May 2026, 16:13content.govdelivery.comUnited States

Ukraine Ministry of Economy Updates Register of Operators of Controlled Substances

In May 2026, Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy published an updated annex to the Unified State Register of Operators of Controlled Substances, reflecting the register’s status as of 13 May 2026. Firms that handle controlled substances in Ukraine should treat this annex as the current official reference when checking their regulatory status and planning future compliance actions.

15 May 2026, 15:23me.gov.uaUkraine

UK Regulatory Policy Committee Updates Cross-Government Tracker of Outstanding Post-Implementation Reviews

In May 2026 the UK Regulatory Policy Committee refreshed its cross-government tracker of outstanding post-implementation reviews, highlighting that reviews for several key environment, chemicals, HSE and food regulations are overdue or due within the next six months. This signals that regimes such as UK F-gas and ozone-depleting substances controls, agricultural diffuse pollution rules, novel foods and worker-safety frameworks may soon be opened for review, so compliance and policy teams should anticipate forthcoming consultations and possible changes to obligations.

13 May 2026, 19:13gov.ukUnited Kingdom

Germany (UBA) Publishes 2023/2024 Inventory of Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases

Germany’s environment agency has published its 2023/2024 fluorinated greenhouse gas inventory, showing that HFC and PFC emissions have fallen by nearly 40 percent since 2017 to around 4,220 tonnes, or 7.2 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent, in 2024. The report ties this decline to tightening EU and national F-gas rules and highlights how the 2024 F-gas Regulation and related climate policies will further drive a shift toward low-GWP and natural refrigerants across refrigeration, air-conditioning, foam, aerosol and medical uses, informing long-term decarbonisation and refrigerant strategy.

13 May 2026, 19:05umweltbundesamt.deGermany

China MEE Convenes 2026 National Ozone Layer Protection Leadership Group Meeting

China’s National Ozone Layer Protection Leadership Group met in Beijing on 8 May 2026 to review 2025 Montreal Protocol compliance and set priorities for ozone‑depleting substance governance in 2026. This signals sustained high‑level political backing for strict management of ODS and related substances, but no new legal instruments, quotas, or specific compliance deadlines are evident yet, so companies should watch for follow‑up implementing notices.

11 May 2026, 18:56mee.gov.cnChina

California Senate Sets 14 May 2026 Hearing On SB 1010 Refrigerant Stewardship And Recovery Act

California’s SB 1010 Refrigerant Stewardship and Recovery Act has advanced to a 14 May 2026 Senate Appropriations hearing, keeping a comprehensive producer-responsibility scheme for household refrigerant appliances moving through the legislature. If enacted, appliance manufacturers and importers will face mandatory participation in a CalRecycle-approved producer responsibility organisation, new eco-modulated fees, and stringent refrigerant recovery and PFAS-informed end-of-life requirements that demand multi-year planning.

11 May 2026, 11:38leginfo.legislature.ca.govUnited States

Spain Publishes 2026 Annual Regulatory Plan

Spain’s 2026 Annual Regulatory Plan (Plan Anual Normativo 2026) sets out 179 planned initiatives (10 organic laws, 38 laws and 131 royal decrees) that ministries aim to bring to the Council of Ministers during 2026, including 61 measures that would incorporate EU law. For chemicals, environment, product stewardship and HSE, the plan foreshadows upcoming Spanish measures on EUDR implementation, textiles and used‑oil waste and EPR regimes, fluorinated greenhouse gases and refrigerants, biocides, medicines and medical devices, general product safety, sustainable consumption and multiple occupational‑safety reforms, giving companies early visibility of dossiers likely to affect operations and supply chains.

10 May 2026, 18:59transparencia.gob.esSpain

Germany – Greens Propose Measures to Prevent PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Drinking Water

In May 2026 the Green Party in the German Bundestag tabled motion 21/5761 calling for aggressive measures to prevent PFAS “forever chemicals”, especially TFA, from contaminating drinking water and groundwater via pesticides, PFAS‑treated paper, fluorinated gases and industrial discharges. If taken up by the government this would tighten national PFAS controls, strengthen market surveillance and polluter‑pays liability, and reinforce German pressure for an EU‑wide PFAS group restriction and additional fluorinated gas limits under REACH.

9 May 2026, 13:27dserver.bundestag.deGermanyEuropean Union

Ukraine Ministry of Economy Updates Register of Operators of Controlled Substances (Annex as of 06 May 2026)

In May 2026, the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine updated its Unified State Register of Operators of Controlled Substances, publishing a new annex that reflects registered operators as of 06 May 2026. Companies handling ozone-depleting substances or fluorinated greenhouse gases in Ukraine should confirm their inclusion and data accuracy in the latest register to maintain regulatory compliance.

9 May 2026, 07:17me.gov.uaUkraine

Netherlands Customs Adds Introduction to VGEM Handbook on Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases (F-Gases)

Netherlands Customs has added an introductory chapter to its VGEM handbook explaining how it will enforce EU Regulation 2024/573 on fluorinated greenhouse gases, including permit and quota controls on imports, exports and movements of F-gases and related equipment. This clarifies enforcement expectations for businesses trading in F-gases, signalling tighter customs scrutiny and alignment with the EU’s 2030 climate targets when planning supply chains and compliance systems.

9 May 2026, 07:14kennisbank.douane.nlNetherlandsEuropean Union