Clean Energy Future

The cost of refrigerating items at home and re-gassing your car’s air conditioning is expect to rise only slightly under a carbon price.

From 1 July, the import of Synthetic Greenhouse Gases (SGGs), the kind used in refrigerators and car air conditioners, is attracting a carbon price.

But because the amount of these gases in consumer products is, on the whole, very small, it’s unlikely to have a significant effect on consumers.

For example, the price of a domestic refrigerator will increase by around $4 as a result of the carbon price.

And the cost of re-gassing the air-conditioning in a car would increase by around $18.

Refrigerated goods like milk, fruit and vegetables, meanwhile, are expected to go up by just 0.4 percent under a carbon price – and this includes the impact on refrigeration.

The impact of the carbon price on SGGs has been factored into the Government’s Household Assistance Package, with the average household receiving $10.10 per week to offset costs.

The introduction of a carbon price on SGGs will encourage use of alternatives which are less harmful for the environment. It will also improve efforts to minimise leaks and to recover and recycle synthetic greenhouse gases.

Emissions from SGGs have been growing considerably over the past few years, with about seven million tonnes of emissions released each year in Australia as a result of SGG use. For further information see the fact sheet Synthetic Greenhouse Gases—Price Impacts.