HFC phase-down legislation passed


Tuesday, 20 June, 2017

The Turnbull government has passed legislation to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), powerful synthetic gases that can be thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide.

HFCs — used in refrigerators, air conditioners, fire extinguishers and insulating foam — comprise up to 2% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The phase-down of HFC imports under the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Amendment Bill 2017 will begin in 2018 and reach an 85% reduction by 2036.

Australia co-chaired the negotiations in Kigali last year that led to a global agreement of all 197 parties to the Montreal Protocol to phase down these potent gases.

It is estimated that the global phase-down will reduce emissions by up to 72 billion tonnes by 2050 or roughly one and a third times global annual emissions. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, this action could avoid up to 0.5° of temperature rises by 2100.

The passing of this legislation will constitute a significant domestic emissions reduction of up to 80 million tonnes.

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