Statute Details
- Title: Environmental Protection and Management (Regulated GHG Works) Order 2022
- Act Code: EPMA1999-S771-2022
- Type: Subsidiary Legislation (SL)
- Authorising Act: Environmental Protection and Management Act 1999
- Enacting power: Section 40K of the Environmental Protection and Management Act 1999
- Commencement: 1 October 2022
- Current status: Current version as at 27 March 2026 (per legislation portal)
- Key provisions: Section 2 (definitions); Section 3 (designation of “regulated GHG works”); Schedule (the specific works)
- Consultation: Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, after consulting the National Environment Agency
What Is This Legislation About?
The Environmental Protection and Management (Regulated GHG Works) Order 2022 (“the Order”) is a targeted regulatory instrument within Singapore’s broader environmental framework. Its central function is to designate certain activities—referred to as “GHG works”—as “regulated GHG works” for the purposes of Part 10A of the Environmental Protection and Management Act 1999 (“EPMA”). In practical terms, the Order determines which kinds of greenhouse-gas (GHG) related work involving specific equipment are subject to the enhanced regulatory regime in Part 10A.
Although the Order is short in the extract provided, it is legally significant because it operates as a “gateway” instrument. By specifying the relevant “works” in the Schedule and linking them to Part 10A of the EPMA, the Order triggers compliance obligations that typically include licensing/authorisation requirements, regulated conduct standards, and enforcement consequences for non-compliance. The Order therefore matters to facility owners, contractors, and service providers who maintain or handle certain refrigerant-containing equipment.
The Order is also technically defined around refrigerants and equipment types. It focuses on “specified water-cooled chillers”—electrically driven water-cooled chillers that require a refrigerant with a global warming potential (GWP) of more than 15. This threshold-based approach reflects a policy objective: regulate activities that can cause emissions or improper handling of high-GWP refrigerants during charging, maintenance, and decommissioning.
What Are the Key Provisions?
1. Citation and commencement (Section 1)
Section 1 provides the formal citation and sets the commencement date. The Order comes into operation on 1 October 2022. For practitioners, this is important for determining whether obligations apply to works performed before or after that date, and for assessing potential regulatory exposure for historical conduct.
2. Definitions that shape the regulated scope (Section 2)
Section 2 is the definitional backbone. It clarifies what counts as “charging”, “maintenance”, “decommissioning”, “refrigerant”, “specified goods”, and “specified water-cooled chiller”. These definitions are crucial because they determine whether a given activity is captured as “regulated GHG works” under the Schedule and Part 10A.
Charging is defined, in relation to specified goods, as the charging of the specified goods with any refrigerant. This captures the act of adding refrigerant into the equipment—an activity that can create emissions if not properly controlled.
Maintenance is defined broadly to include breaking into any part of the specified goods (including any gas carrying conductor or circuit) that contains or is designed to contain any greenhouse gas. It includes activities such as supplying parts with refrigerant or refrigerant constituents, removing refrigerant or constituents, removing parts, reassembling parts, and repairing leaks. However, it excludes activities that do not involve the use or handling of any greenhouse gas. This carve-out is legally important: it narrows the definition to maintenance that actually implicates GHG handling, rather than purely mechanical work.
Decommissioning is defined as the final shut-down and removal from operation or usage of the specified goods or any part of the specified goods that contains or is designed to contain any greenhouse gas. Notably, it excludes situations where shut-down or removal does not involve the use or handling of any greenhouse gas. This exclusion can matter where equipment is removed without any refrigerant handling (for example, after complete recovery and isolation), though the factual record would be critical.
Refrigerant is defined in functional terms: it includes any greenhouse gas, or blend/mixture of substances (at least one greenhouse gas) that is used for heat transfer in a refrigerating system, absorbs heat at low temperature/pressure, rejects heat at high temperature/pressure, and usually changes state between gaseous and liquid in the refrigerating system. This definition is designed to cover both pure refrigerants and blends, ensuring that the regulatory net is not evaded by using mixtures.
Specified goods are defined as any specified water-cooled chiller. A specified water-cooled chiller is an electrically driven water-cooled chiller requiring a refrigerant where the greenhouse gas (contained in the refrigerant) has a global warming potential of more than 15. The Order therefore ties the regulatory trigger to the refrigerant’s climate impact metric.
3. Regulated GHG works designation (Section 3)
Section 3 provides the operative designation: the GHG works specified in the Schedule are regulated GHG works for the purposes of Part 10A of the EPMA, from and including the date specified opposite each of such works.
This structure indicates that the Schedule likely lists specific categories of works (for example, charging, maintenance, decommissioning, or other defined activities) and assigns commencement dates to each category. Even though the extract does not reproduce the Schedule content, Section 3 makes clear that the regulatory effect is not necessarily uniform across all works; each listed work may have its own “date specified opposite each of such works”. Practitioners should therefore consult the Schedule carefully to identify the exact works captured and the relevant effective dates.
4. Linkage to Part 10A of the EPMA
While the extract does not set out Part 10A itself, the legal consequence of Section 3 is that once an activity is classified as “regulated GHG works”, it falls within the statutory regime of Part 10A. That regime typically governs who may carry out such works, how refrigerants must be handled, and what compliance steps must be taken. The Order’s role is to define the scope of “regulated GHG works” so that Part 10A can operate.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
The Order is structured in a conventional legislative format:
(a) Enacting formula—states the Minister’s power under section 40K of the EPMA and notes consultation with the National Environment Agency.
(b) Sections 1 to 3—sets out citation/commencement, definitions, and the designation of regulated works.
(c) The Schedule—lists the specific “GHG works” that become “regulated GHG works”, with dates specified for each listed work. The Schedule is therefore the most practically important part for determining what activities are regulated and when.
(d) Cross-references—the definition of “water-cooled chiller” is imported by reference to Part 2 of the Second Schedule to the Environmental Protection and Management (Prescribed Regulated Goods) Order 2022 (G.N. No. S 272/2022). This means the Order’s scope depends on the earlier “prescribed regulated goods” instrument, and practitioners should read both instruments together.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The Order applies to persons and entities that carry out, arrange, or are responsible for “regulated GHG works” involving specified water-cooled chillers. In practice, this includes building owners and operators (who commission and contract for chiller servicing), facility management companies, refrigeration contractors, and technicians who perform charging, maintenance, or decommissioning activities that involve refrigerants with GWP above the threshold.
Because the Order defines the relevant activities (charging, maintenance, decommissioning) and the relevant equipment (specified water-cooled chillers), its applicability is largely fact- and scope-driven. If the equipment does not meet the “GWP more than 15” criterion, the chiller may fall outside the definition of “specified goods”, and the Part 10A regime may not apply to works on that equipment. Conversely, if the equipment is within scope, even routine servicing that involves breaking into refrigerant-containing parts or repairing leaks may be captured as “maintenance” and therefore potentially regulated.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
This Order is important because it operationalises Singapore’s regulatory approach to high-impact refrigerants. High-GWP refrigerants can contribute significantly to climate change if released to the atmosphere. By regulating works that involve charging, handling, and dismantling refrigerant-containing equipment, the legal framework aims to reduce avoidable emissions and improve safe, controlled handling practices.
From a practitioner’s perspective, the Order’s significance lies in its scope-determining function. Many compliance disputes turn on whether a particular activity is within the statutory definitions and whether the equipment is within the specified category. Section 2 provides the definitional hooks that determine whether an activity is “charging”, “maintenance”, or “decommissioning”, and whether the equipment is a “specified water-cooled chiller”.
Additionally, Section 3’s “date specified opposite each of such works” approach means that compliance timelines may vary by category of regulated work. This can affect contractual arrangements, tender specifications, and enforcement risk. For example, a contractor may need to ensure that the correct authorisation or compliance steps are in place for works performed after the relevant effective date for that category.
Finally, because the Order is made under the EPMA and ties into Part 10A, it should be read as part of a broader compliance ecosystem. Advisers should expect that Part 10A imposes substantive obligations (such as licensing/authorisation, record-keeping, and standards of conduct) once the Order designates particular works as “regulated”. Even where the extract does not show those obligations, the practitioner should treat the Order as the instrument that triggers them.
Related Legislation
- Environmental Protection and Management Act 1999 (in particular, Part 10A and section 40K)
- Environmental Protection and Management (Prescribed Regulated Goods) Order 2022 (G.N. No. S 272/2022), including its Second Schedule (Part 2 definition of “water-cooled chiller”)
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Environmental Protection and Management (Regulated GHG Works) Order 2022 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.