According to the latest notification from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, HFCs chemical production and construction projects are under strict control, and from 1 January 2022, no new or expanded HFCs chemical production facilities for refrigerants, blowing agents and other controlled uses as listed in the Annex shall be built anywhere, and where HFCs chemical production facilities listed in the Annex have already been built and need to be converted or built on different sites, they shall not increase The original production capacity of HFCs or the addition of new product types of HFCs listed in the Annex.

In the Notice on Strict Control of the First Batch of HFC Chemical Production and Construction Projects, the General Office of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the General Office of the Development and Reform Commission, and the General Office of the State Ministry of Industry and Information Technology proposed that the ecological and environmental departments (bureaus), development and reform commissions, and industrial and information technology departments (bureaus) of each province, autonomous region, and municipality directly under the Central Government, and the ecological and environmental bureaus, development and reform commissions, and industrial and information technology bureaus of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps It is imperative that in accordance with the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (hereinafter referred to as the Amendment), which entered into force for China on 15 September 2021, and the List of Controlled Ozone-Depleting Substances in China (Ministry of Ecology and Environment, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Announcement No. 44 of 2021), China will gradually reduce the hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) production and use of HFCs. In order to effectively fulfill the Amendment and in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Regulations on the Management of Ozone Depleting Substances, the following important circulars are made to strictly control some HFCs chemical production and construction projects and to strengthen the environmental management of related construction projects, including

1. From 1 January 2022, no new or expanded HFCs chemical production facilities (excluding by-product facilities) for controlled uses such as refrigerants and blowing agents listed in the annex shall be built anywhere, except where the environmental impact report (form) has been approved.

2. If the HFCs chemical production facilities listed in the Annex have already been built and need to be altered or built at different sites, they shall not increase the original HFCs production capacity or add new HFCs product types listed in the Annex.

3. Enterprises that violate the above provisions shall be punished in accordance with the law.

A list of controlled HFCs is attached.

List of controlled HFCs

*HFC-32 is one of the main alternative technology selection directions identified in the China Industrial and Commercial Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Sector Phase II (2021-2026) Hydrochlorofluorocarbon-containing (HCFCs) Phase-out Management Plan. This notification only applies to the control of HFCs chemical production construction projects and does not cover the area of HFCs use.