HFC refrigerants, more taxes please…

I live in a country, where it seems that the only thing that is free of taxes is the air that we breathe. It seems even more so, since a many of these taxes have been imposed in the past 10 years, along with a steep increase in the pre-existing tax rates. This is the situation in most European countries and it defines our new social contract.

There is one area that we have not taxed yet in Greece, and that is HFC refrigerant gases, in coordination with the EU F-Gas regulations and targets. Measures like this, have been in effect in other EU countries, like Spain, resulting in prices, for certain HFC refrigerants, to be double, or even four times higher compared the ones we currently enjoy in Greece.

I say we should do the same!

Crazy right? Surely if we increase the operating costs of a supermarket, then this will trickle back through increased consumer prices.

Yes, this would be possible, but it is half the picture.

By taxing HFC leakages, the goal is to deter leaks and reduce the percentage of HFC usage in air-conditioning and refrigeration systems. But, what we most definitely also need, are monetary incentives to replace old HFC technologies with new, “clean” ones.

Thus, the new deal would be something like this: “We will tax your HFC leaks, but we will fund a significant percentage of the replacement cost of your old equipment, with new that uses CO2 as a refrigerant”

This makes absolute sense on every level.

The state increases its short-term revenues.

The businesses and consumers are incentivized to replace old equipment with new that uses environmentally friendly refrigerants, like CO2.

Refrigerant leakages are dis-incentivized heavily, and EU HFC reduction targets will be reached.

Businesses will receive the positive commercial impact of refurbishing their assets.

Economic growth is stimulated from the businesses participating in the refurbishment process.

And on top of all that, everybody will enjoy significantly lower energy consumption costs, due to the use of newer technologies.

This should be the new “contract” in the air-conditioning and refrigeration markets of today and the near future.

More taxes? Yes, please!