An EU scheme to limit the use of dangerous gases runs into problems

FOR A WHILEHFCHFCEUHFCEUHFCHFCEUHFCEUEFCTC it looked as if all was going to plan. In a move cheered by climate activists, the European Union began in 2015 to restrict the production and import of gases known as hydrofluorocarbons (s). s are widely used in refrigeration, air-conditioning and manufacturing, but they are also potent greenhouse gases. The first big shortages hit in early 2018. Prices across Europe multiplied sixfold or even more. The wanted to push users to adopt pricey, climate-friendlier alternatives. It thought that the engineered shortage would do the trick.But officials were soon scratching their heads. The high prices unexpectedly plummeted. And even though the tightened caps on s again a year ago, prices are still not much higher than before the crunch. The reason: s were being smuggled into the . The trafficking is still going on. The Environmental Investigation Agency, a watchdog based in London that has dispatched researchers to pose as buyers in Romania, estimates that a quarter of all s in the are contraband. A body formed by chemical companies, the European FluoroCarbons Technical Committee (), says the proportion may be as high as a third.