California Air Resources Board

Senate Bill 1013 established the Fluorinated Gases (F-gas) Emission Reduction Incentive Program, also known as the F-gas Reduction Incentive Program (FRIP), to be administered by CARB, to promote the adoption of new refrigerant technologies to achieve short- and long-term climate benefits, energy efficiency, and other co-benefits, as specified.

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), one class of fluorinated gases, are potent climate pollutants. Their climate impact, quantified through global warming potential (GWP), is hundreds to thousands of times higher compared to carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas. HFCs are currently the fastest growing greenhouse gases in California and in the US. Scientists have determined that reducing climate pollutants such as HFCs is among the most effective climate mitigation strategies.1  HFCs are predominantly used as refrigerants in refrigeration equipment, air conditioners and heat pumps.

Due to their potent climate impact, Senate Bill 1383 mandates the reduction of HFCs 40% below 2013 levels by 2030. In 2017, the CARB Board approved the Short-Lived Climate Pollutant (SLCP) strategy developed pursuant to Senate Bill 605. In the strategy, incentives for low-GWP refrigerant technologies were identified as a key strategy in achieving the emission reduction targets set forth by Senate Bill 1383.

Incentives can help overcome the cost premium for and thus increase the adoption of climate-friendly technologies, particularly ultra-low-global warming potential (GWP) technologies (defined as having a GWP <10).  Higher adoption will lead to economies of scale, which will lead to wider market adoption, and therefore greater GHG reductions. Senate Bill 1206, passed in 2022, directs CARB to assess how to transition California’s economy to ultra-low-GWP and no-GWP alternatives in all HFC sectors. One of the pathways to do that is through incentives, so FRIP aligns well with California’s long-term climate goals as identified in Senate Bill 1206. 

FRIP works in conjunction with CARB's regulations on HFCs in stationary refrigeration, air conditioning, and other end-uses by providing funding to mitigate first costs associated with the transition to lower-GWP technologies, necessary to meet SB 1383 targets.

History of FRIP

Background Information

FRIP is partially funded through California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment – particularly in disadvantaged communities. SB 1013 authorized moneys from the GGRF to be allocated for incentives offered as part of FRIP.

• 1Xu, Y., D. Zaelke, G. J. M. Velders, and V. Ramanathan (2013).