European Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard has warned the refrigeration industry that F-gases need to be cut substantially by 2030.
Hedegaard said she would be pushing for a global plan to cut fluorinated gases at the United Nations Climate Change talks which are only weeks away.
She said F-gases should be cut, from today's levels, by two-thirds by 2030.
"If F-gases contribute less, other sectors will have to do more," she added, referring to the EU's non-binding goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by between 80-95 percent by the middle of the century. It also has a binding 2020 target to achieve a 20 percent emissions reduction.
Since the phase-out of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), the European Union is pushing to eliminate a new generation of F-gas chemicals.
The gases were introduced as an solution that was easily acceptable to industry, since the production chain to make them was similar to CFCs.
But their global warming potential, thousands of times more damaging than carbon dioxide, has led the European Union to push to ban them in favour of natural non-synthetic alternatives, such as ammonia or CO2.
Hedegaard said at the UN Summit Europe will be seeking urgent action on F-gases and will be looking for collaborative support from smaller island nations facing rising sea levels.
She said their support was necessary to tackle resistance from major emitters such as India and China.
The EU Commission is expected to release the results of a review into existing EU laws for F-gases in the next few days.
The EU proposals could include a ban on HCFCs.
