ARA Submission to the OPSGG MA Review in Brief

The Australian Refrigeration Association has made a submission to the Federal Department of the Environment regarding their Review of the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gases Management Act (OPSGG MA).

This press release is to make it easy for you to access our submission. The submission itself is complex because the topic is complex. The summary provided below is critical of the options and documents offered by the Department of the Environment for the reasons explained. To fully appreciate our concerns one must consider the source of those concerns:

http://www.environment.gov.au/protection/ozone/legislation - review

The bottom line is that the OPSGG MA Review requires a lot more work. There is an enormous opportunity but the Department needs to consider the needs of the industry in full rather than the narrow constitutional constraints. Leadership is paramount.

Purpose: The OPSGG MA Review asks the wrong question. The question that should be asked is: "How should regulation of and guidance to the HVACR industry be provided by the federal government"? The Review focuses on how Australia should phase down HFC refrigerants without recognising that this policy requires recognition of the refrigerants that will replace HFC refrigerants.

Context & Scope: The Review does not explain that HFC emissions will become a large proportion of global CO2 / CO2e emissions if HFC use and emissions are not phased down. It is clear that there will be global agreement to this important international initiative and Australian regulatory requirements by way of amendments to the Montreal Protocol.

Externalities and Economics: The Review does not recognise that HFC emissions are an externality and should be treated as such. The high environmental cost of HFC emissions and the costs to reduce HFC emissions can and should be borne by the HVACR industry. The Review fails to recognise that the current OPSGG MA and its administration does not address the commercial incentives for contractors and scrap metal dealers to cause or permit high HFC emissions due to lack of enforcement.

Our view is that Australia can reduce the cost of the HVACR industry by $10B PA; perhaps $150B in cost savings over the period to 2036. About $8B of annual savings will be delivered by refrigerant selection and the use of low cost, highly energy efficient HVACR technology.

Natural Refrigerants: The Review does not recognise the value of natural refrigerants in replacing HFCs. We have provided to DoE and its advisers, and they have access to, extensive proof of the value of NRs in all sectors, but ignore it. It is nonetheless comprehensively ignored.

Enforcement: The Review does not recognise that the lack of enforcement of the OPSGG MA is a fundamental driver to HFC emissions and does not recognise that end of equipment life emissions are rampant because of failure to degas prior to shredding for metal recovery.

New Technology: The Review does not recognise that Australia is a leader in HVACR innovation that could make a major contribution to the use of HVACR technology that does not give rise to HFC emissions. There is a significant export development opportunity in this regard.

Cost Benefit Assessment: It focuses on a series of options for HFC emissions reduction that fall well short of the opportunity to reduce HVACR costs and to reduce HFC emissions by at least 50% by 2030 and in so doing reduce the cost of Australia's HVACR services dramatically, $10B pa.

Flammability and Toxicity: The Review perpetuates the myth that hydrocarbon refrigerants are a greater flammability risk than synthetic refrigerants. The fact is that all refrigerants are flammable excepting CO2, air and water. It fails to recognise the toxicity of the combustion products of synthetic refrigerants. The Review also does not to recognise the toxicity of synthetic refrigerants, and especially toxic by-products of breakdown or combustion.

Work Health & Safety: The Review argues that WH&S is a state responsibility that the OPSGG MA cannot address. It is correct that WHS is a state responsibility, but the nationally accepted model WHS regulations were a joint state-Commonwealth initiative. While WHS changes must be implemented by the states, the Commonwealth must take a leading role to bring the states to a new consensus on necessary WHS changes. We note in our submission a series of factual errors in the WH&S report provided to the DoE.

Training: It is clear that government leadership is required in this regard and the OPSGG MA can play an important role by making funding available and by guiding the industry as to the training and educational requirements.

Bias: The proposed options and the supporting documents are heavily biased in favour of outcomes that will serve the synthetic refrigerants industry. They are similarly biased against both the natural refrigerant-based technologies and the innovation that is obviously available, but ignored.

However technology assessment and emissions reduction is not a democratic matter. The commercially driven opinion of the synthetic refrigerants industry does not make it right. A far more balanced, science and evidence based, and ambitious treatment of the Review is required.

Recommendations
The ARA will provide recommendations for change to the OPSGG MA in a subsequent submission. In the mean time we have recommended that the time available for submissions be extended by at least one month and much more importantly that the review be rebased and restarted to recognise the need for federal government leadership in the HVACR industry.

Please address all enquiries to Tim Edwards, President of the Australian Refrigeration Association: Tim.Edwards@ausref.org.au, 0405 324 834.

End Note
The OPSGG MA is the Act that gives expression to the Montreal and Kyoto Protocols in Australia. It is the central piece of legislation determining the practices of the refrigeration and air conditioning industry. It specifically prohibits the intentional release of HFC & HCFC refrigerants. HCFCs are Ozone Depleting Substances. HFCs (and HCFCs) are high global warming materials that are the focus of the current review of the Montreal Protocol.