Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Refrigerator Exchange

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

BUENOS AIRES, Mar 3 2007 (IPS) - The Argentine government will grant credits and subsidies in 2007 to consumers to exchange — over the next three years — old refrigerators for new ones that are more energy efficient. The initiative, coordinated amongst several government agencies, aims to cut overall household energy use.

Roberto Lenzi, president of the Argentine Chamber of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industries, told Tierramérica that the new units use 20 to 30 percent less energy, and factories are investing to accommodate higher demand for efficient refrigerators.

The “exchange plan” includes a subsidy of 25 percent of the value of the new refrigerator, if the consumer turns in the old unit for recycling and destruction. Credits are being made available to cover the difference.