Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) like FM-200™ to Follow Path of Halon; Phasedown Path Determined in 2016

At the 27th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (MOP27), all 197 countries agreed that the framework for global phasedown of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) will be decided in 2016. With the formation of a contact group, an amendment to the Montreal Protocol and a global HFC phasedown appears to be imminent. How quickly the phasedown will occur will be negotiated in 2016.

For the past several years, proposals have been made under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer to phase down global production and consumption of HFCs with a framework similar to the EU F-gas regulations. In this way, HFCs would be put on a phasedown schedule similar to the path taken by halon. Until the  27th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (MOP27) in November 2015 in Dubai, the proposals had been blocked by a procedural issue and formal negotiations were not allowed to advance. At MOP27, all of that changed.

MOP27 breakthroughs include:
 

• The formation of a “contact group on the feasibility and ways of managing hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)” was completed;
• Formal negotiations were initiated;
• All 197 countries represented agreed to “work within the Montreal Protocol to an HFC amendment in 2016 by first resolving challenges by generating solutions in the contact group”;
• Major HFC stakeholders are applauding the progress achieved at MOP27

This is, of course, very important for the fire protection industry to understand; time has run out for HFCs, regardless of the industry or application. Property owners are demanding sustainable technologies and responsible solutions that will last the life of their valuable assets. The result: The specifying community is increasingly excluding HFCs from specifications for new fire suppression systems.

Unlike FM-200™ and other HFCs used in fire suppression, 3M™ Novec™ 1230 Fire Protection Fluid has a global warming potential of less than one and is not targeted for phasedown. Novec 1230 fluid also comes with the  3M™ Blue SkySM Warranty providing a 20-year protection against future regulatory bans or restrictions.

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