Honeywell has reacted strongly to the German government’s claim this week – that it had adhered to climate change emission reduction goals – maintaining Berlin’s position is “political gamesmanship.”
The stakes have been upped considerably during the past few days following the European Commission’s (EC) decision to launch first steps in an infringement procedure against Germany for its supposed non-compliance with the Mobile Air Conditioning Directive.
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Germany’s transport ministry told just-auto this week it adhered to the climate emission reduction aims, but said it is “not wise in the view of safety to use something that obviously bears risk, [that] has not been fully explored yet.
“Secondly, in this particular issue, we are on the right track because it is not [that] we source something on to the market that might have severe consequences for health and safety.”
The issue has see-sawed between Berlin, Brussels and Paris, ever since the French government’s drastic decision to ban Mercedes A, B, CLA and SL models using r134a, a move subsequently overturned by the country’s highest court, the Council of State.
Honeywell supplies the r1234yf refrigerant, which it maintains is safe and lower-polluting.
“The German transport ministry’s claims about the safety of HFO-1234yf are an example of the unfortunate political gamesmanship that has delayed enforcement of the EU Mobile Air Conditioning Directive,” Honeywell said a statement emailed to just-auto.
“Sadly, the biggest loser in all this is the environment, which would benefit greatly from the discontinued use of HFC-134a, which is a potent greenhouse gas.
“The complete safety of HFO-1234yf for use in vehicles has been attested to repeatedly by almost all of the world’s car manufacturers, SAE International and even the ministry’s own agency, the KBA.
“Many automakers have selected HFO-1234yf as their new refrigerant because it is safe, cost-effective and will reduce the greenhouse impact by 99.9%, with a global warming potential of less than 1 – lower than carbon dioxide.”
Berlin, however, cites the development of a CO2-based refrigerant, a move Mercedes says it is pursuing “at full throttle”, with an aim of entry into service by 2017 although there is scepticism this date is achievable.
Despite those doubts, the German automaker says it has had a prototype in testing since December, with a view to expanding that fleet for evaluation in northern Sweden and Death Valley.
Honeywell maintained its sceptical stance, however, noting: “Third-party data shows HFO-1234yf’s widespread adoption globally would have the greenhouse gas equivalent of permanently removing more than 30m cars from the road worldwide, or about 3% of the total global fleet.”
