On March 1, 2023, members of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) adopted their opinions on amending the regulation on fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gas) emissions with 64 votes in favor, eight against and seven abstentions, and the further target is to accelerate the transition to climate neutrality. The report is scheduled to be adopted during the March 29-30, 2023 plenary sitting and will constitute Parliament’s negotiating position with EU governments on the final shape of the legislation on F-gas.

Starting from 2023, the amendments to Annex II of REACH regulation on safety data sheets (SDSs) became mandatory. This means that related enterprises must affix a unique formula identifier (UFI) code in section 1.1 of their SDS when exporting mixtures to the EU. Mixtures that meet specific conditions must also complete poison center notification (PCN).

On February 17, 2023, ECHA published a public consultation on two substances that are proposed to be identified as substances of very high concern (SVHC). Related enterprises may make comments on the two substances before April 3, 2023.

On February 9, the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) Committee tweeted that it has endorsed the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a measure aimed at responding to climate change and preventing carbon leakage, with 63 votes in favor, 7 votes against and 7 votes in abstention.

On January 13, 2023, five countries – Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden – submitted a restriction proposal to ECHA on Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) under REACH. On February 7, ECHA published the detailed restriction proposal of roughly 10,000 PFASs, which is the broadest restriction proposal in history. Next, ECHA will start a six-month public consultation on PFASs on March 22.

On January 17, 2023, ECHA added nine substances to the Candidate List of SVHCs. The Candidate List of substances of very high concern (SVHCs) now contains 233 substances that may have serious effects on people or the environment.

On November 23, 2022, the European Commission released Regulation (EU) 2022/2291 in the Official Journal of the European Union amending Part A of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, in which Unintentional Trace Contaminant (UTC) limit is set for hexachlorobenzene. The Regulation 2022/2291 shall enter into force on the twentieth day following its publication and be applicable in all Member States.

The European Commission is preparing an amending act proposing to introduce new hazard classes for endocrine disruptors in the CLP Regulation (EC No. 1272/2008). Within one year of the entry into force of the amending act, the EU Commission shall ask European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to assess whether resorcinol meets the class of endocrine disruptors and whether it should be identified as a substance of very high concern (SVHC).

On the afternoon of June 22, the European Commission voted to construct the first regulation on the Carbon Boundary Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in the worldwide range. This event marks that the European Commission (on July 15, 2021), the Council of the European Union (on March 15, 2022), and the European Parliament (on June 22, 2022) have released their own versions of the CBAM regulations.

On June 10, 2022, the European Commission revised the definition of nanomaterials in a new Recommendation. As a deliverable of the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, the new Recommendation supports a coherent EU regulatory framework for nanomaterials, helping to align legislation across all sectors. It is expected that different individual sectors will update their internal definition according to the revised definition after the new Recommendation is implemented. Each sector will proceed in accordance with its own timetable.