Can R-134a be saved?

Though labeled a greenhouse gas that the European Community wants to phase out, many in the United States and Asia want to continue with the refrigerant but reduce its environmental impact until a viable alternative is well developed.

The A/C refrigerant R-134a has been labeled a greenhouse gas (GHG), and the European Community (EC) wants it to be phased out. The “beginning of the end” in Europe is between 2009 and 2011, the timetable depending on conferences between the EC parliament, member state council of ministers, and the European Commission, the enforcement agency. The EC prefers replacement with CO₂ (R-744), but may leave technical “space” for R-152a.

The EC is not the only regulatory body involved in A/C refrigerants. The California Air Resources Board (CARB), per a 2002 law, AB 1493, must impose GHG emission standards for new vehicles starting in 2009. However, CARB has indicated it will not regulate to exclude any refrigerant.