Singapore | Environmental Protection and Management (Amendment) Bill

Title of document
Environmental Protection and Management (Amendment) Bill

Description
This notification is to inform Members that Singapore/NEA proposes to enact new legislation for refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC) equipment (as specified in item 4) that use high Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants, and are supplied or for sale in Singapore. The criterion and specifications (e.g. capacity and usage) of the goods to be regulated will be stipulated in the Subsidiary Legislations. The regulatory requirements are: the applicable RAC equipment must be registered with NEA, and its refrigerant must meet the following GWP[1] levels: For water-cooled chillers, GWP of refrigerant must be less than or equal to 15. For air-conditioners, GWP of refrigerants must be less than or equal to 750. For refrigerators, GWP of refrigerants must be less than or equal to 15. [1] The GWP values of the greenhouse gas refers to the 100-year warming potential of 1kg of GHG, blend or mixture which will be aligned with the Fifth Assessment Report of the United Nation’s (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In addition, the GWP value of HCFC-31, not found in the Fifth Assessment Report, will be aligned with the Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion 2018. For refrigerant blends/mixtures, the GWP of refrigerant blends/mixtures will be calculated as a mass-weighted average of GWP of the individual components. The GWP thresholds (GWP of 15 and 750 for specified equipment) were based on the following considerations in Singapore’s context:  Availability of lower GWP alternatives  Better energy efficiency performance of lower GWP alternatives  Low costs of adoption, when energy cost savings are factored.

Notifying member: Singapore

Notification: G/TBT/N/SGP/56

Objective tag
Protection of the environment

Objective
For the purposes of mitigating Singapore’s greenhouse gas emissions and in support of global goals stipulated under the Paris Agreement. Rationale: HFCs are greenhouse gases with high GWP and are commonly used as refrigerants in household, commercial and industrial RAC applications. The imposition of maximum GWP levels will facilitate industry’s switch to low-GWP refrigerants and reduce reliance on high-GWP refrigerants, thereby lowering emissions of greenhouse gases

Agency responsible
National Environment Agency (NEA)

Timing:

• Submission: 28/12/2020
• Reception: 04/01/2021
• Distribution: 06/01/2021
• Final date for comments: 07/03/2021
• Proposed date of adoption: N/A