Following on from the recent COP26 Summit, with so much attention on reducing climate change, you may be surprised to hear that greenhouse gases are being smuggled into the UK.
A BBC investigation has found evidence of a black market in highly polluting greenhouse gases being smuggled into the UK from eastern Europe. These gases are called HFCs and they’re used in cooling systems such as air conditioning and industrial fridges.
The EU and UK are phasing them out altogether bringing in cleaner alternatives however older machinery still runs with the most polluting HFCs; the result is a thriving underground trade. These gases are 4000 times worse than CO2.
It’s an illegal trade, you’ve probably never heard of, in gases that harm the environment. they’re called HFCs hydrofluorocarbons used in air conditioning systems shop fridges and the air con in older cars only
Only approved and licensed companies can import, sell and use them. There are meant to be strict quotas. These old HFCs are powerful greenhouse gases that the government is phasing out. They want us to use cleaner greener alternatives but that means upgrading to use more modern kit which is expensive.
This has resulted in a thriving black market in old gases worth millions. It is thought that large amounts of the gases are evading border checks and custom checks as they are transported from Ukraine, through Romania, across Europe and into the UK.
They have been found advertised on Facebook marketplace and are sold to small firms and aircon engineers who don’t care about the rules.
There’s huge profits to be made and it’s rare for anyone to be caught and charged. The penalties for those that are charged are very low.
We really need to see customs and enforcement agencies recognize that climate crime is a serious crime and this might be an invisible gas but it has a huge impact on global warming.
It highlights that the agreements drawn up between nations to combat global warming will count for nothing if the laws can be exploited by criminals who just want to make money
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