Elvis Hoffpauir, President
MACS Worldwide
In light of the Daimler announcement on September 25, 2012 renouncing the use of HFO-1234yf, on November 7, 2012, the Mobile Air Conditioning Society Worldwide (MACS) sent a letter to the EU Commission responsible for implementation of EU Directive 2006/40. This directive requires vehicle manufacturers, who wish to sell in Europe, to transition to Low Global Warming Refrigerants with a target completion date in 2017. This transition in Europe in no way marks an end to the use of R134a but takes additional controlled steps forward to reduce the impact that the global vehicle market has on the environment. While there are currently no concurrent requirements in the United States, the use of Low Global Warming Refrigerants is rewarded with vehicle emission credits to the automakers.
How this affects our membership…
The entirety of the MACS membership is affected by the European Directives. For the service sector, an organized transition to a common refrigerant is very important. Without a common fluid, vehicle manufacturers would likely choose from a variety of options that our service sector members would need to prepare for at a very high expense. Imagine needing to invest in four, five or even six sets of equipment to service vehicle A/C system for anyone who services “All Makes and Models”.
For our manufacturing members, many of whom were asked to develop equipment for the new proposed refrigerant and who have invested significant resources in support of the European Directive, any further delay in the implementation of the directive would cause significant harm to them.
Below are copies of the November 7, 2012 letter as well as the November 23, 2012 response from the EU.
