G/TBT/N/NZL/116  
14 November  2022 
(22-8473) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original:  English  
 
  
NOTIFICATION  
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6  
 
1. Notifying Member:  NEW ZEALAND  
If applicable, name of local government involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):   
2. Agency responsible:   
Ministry for the Environment  
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers , email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above:   
PO Box 10362  
Wellington 6143  
New Zealand  
www.mfe.govt.nz  
FGas@mfe.govt.nz  
Ph: +64 4 439 7400  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [  ], 5.6.2 [  ], 5.7.1 [  ], 3.2 [  ], 7.2 [  ], 
other :  
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff 
heading. ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  
Notification covers the following products, classified in various HS codes under 8415, 
8418, 8479, 8609, 8704, and  8902:  
• Household refrigerators  
• Dehumidifiers  
• Household and small commercial air ‐conditioning & heat pumps  
• Vehicle air ‐conditioning (excluding trains and buses)  
• Passenger vehicle air ‐conditioning (e.g., trains and buses)  
• Heavy commercial and industrial air ‐conditioning  
• Commercial refrigeration (e.g., food retail, supermarkets & self ‐contained 
cabinets)  
• Commercial refrigeration (e.g., <40kW rated capacity excluding food retail and 
applications below ‐50°C)  
• Transport refrigeration (e.g., refrige rated trucks, shipping containers, fishing 
boats and reefer vessels)  
• Industrial refrigeration (e.g., stationary refrigerant systems with rated capacity 
>40kW excluding applications below ‐50°C)  G/TBT/N/NZL/116  
 
- 2 - 
 
  5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified doc ument:  Proposed 
measures to reduce the environmental impact of fluorinated gases consultation 
document:  
https://environment.govt.nz/publications/proposed -measures -to-reduce -the-
environmental -impact -of-fluorina ted-gases -consultation -document  
39 pages in English (Relevant pages on the prohibitions are pages 23 – 27) 
6. Description of content:  The attached consultation document outlines New Zealand's 
proposals to reduce emissions from Fluorinated gases and refrigerants. This includes 
proposals for a mandatory product stewardship scheme for refrigerants, and stepped 
prohibitions on both the import and sale of goods containing hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) 
refrigerants (referred to as pre -charged equipment).  
A propo sed prohibition on the import and sale of pre ‐charged equipment would ensure 
that the use of refrigerants with high global warming potentials (GWPs) would not 
continue once alternatives are available, while a phased approach would also avoid the 
need to im mediately transition to lower ‐GWP alternatives and address the financial burden 
associated with transitioning equipment.  
These proposed prohibitions would work by imposing a GWP limit on specific classes of 
goods after specific dates. After these dates, th e described goods would not be able to be 
imported or sold if they contained a HFC refrigerant with a GWP at or above the specified 
level. The current proposed timeline would impose prohibitions in three tranches: 1 
January 2025, 1 January 2028, and 1 Janu ary 2032. The prohibition timeline proposed in 
the consultation document was formed based on external expertise, advice from industry 
groups, and other government policies.  
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where 
applicab le: To support New Zealand's obligations under the Kigali Amendment to the 
Montreal Protocol to phase down the use of hydrofluorocarbons, supporting global efforts 
to fight climate change.  
8. Relevant documents:   
Proposed measures to reduce the environmental impact of fluorinated gases consultation 
document:  
https://environment.govt.nz/publicatio ns/proposed -measures -to-reduce -the-
environmental -impact -of-fluorinated -gases -consultation -document  
Regulatory Impact Statement: Options to manage imports of finished products containing 
HFC refrigerants  
https://environment.govt.nz/assets/publications/RIA -imports -containing -HFC-
refrigerants.pdf  
9. Proposed date of adoption:  1 June 2024; Estimated to be mid 2024  
Proposed date of entry into force:  1 Jan uary 2025  
10. Final date for comments:  90 days from notification  
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [ ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers and email and website addresses, if available , of other body:   
FGas@mfe.govt.nz