The Federal Government has warned against the excessive import of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) gases after fining two companies for breaching their licence conditions.
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) penalised Sythree and Honeywell Polymers Australia, both involved in the chemical industry, for importing 1417 and 2245 tonnes, respectively, above their 2024 HFC quota. They were each fined $19,800 for breaching the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 (the Act).
HFCs – potent synthetic greenhouse gases used in refrigeration, air-conditioning and industrial cooling applications – must be phased down by 2036 under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.
“To meet this commitment, we introduced a legislated HFC quota system,” the DCCEEW said. “The system limits how much HFC gas companies can import each year. This helps industry move to safer, lower-emission alternatives.”
There are several suitable HFC alternatives with no or very low global warming potential available in Australia, including natural refrigerants such as hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide and ammonia. All of these are suitable to heat pump applications, and are not controlled under the Act unless they are blended with HFCs.
The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol was adopted in 2016 to control substances that deplete the ozone layer, with Australia starting its HFC phase-down from January 2018.
Australia’s HFC import quota will gradually reduce over 18 years, with a 15 per cent baseline to be reached in 2036.
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