US moves to phase out hydrofluorocarbon gases as refrigerants

In what officials call a key step in combating climate change, the Environmental Protection Agency is drastically limiting domestic production and use of hydrofluorocarbons, highly potent greenhouse gases commonly used in refrigerators and air conditioners.

The new rule, which follows a law passed by Congress last year, is intended to decrease the production and use of HFCs in the US by 85% over the next 15 years, as part of a global phase-out. designed to slow global warming.

HFCs are greenhouse gases thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide. They often leak through pipes or appliances that use compressed refrigerants and are considered one of the main drivers of global warming. President Joe Biden has committed to adopting a 2016 global agreement to greatly reduce HFCs by 2036.

White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy, a former EPA administrator, said the new rule was “a victory on the climate and a victory on American jobs and competitiveness.”

The rule is expected to reduce harmful emissions by the equivalent of 4.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2050, McCarthy said, a total similar to three years of emissions from the U.S. electricity sector.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the phase-out is backed by a coalition of industry groups who see it as an opportunity to “leverage” US leadership in domestic manufacturing and alternative refrigerant production. The industry has long been shifting toward the use of alternative refrigerants and has lobbied for a federal rule to avoid a patchwork of state laws and regulations.

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“This action reaffirms what President Biden always says – that when you think about the weather, you think about jobs,” Regan said, echoing a Biden saying about climate change. The transition to safer alternatives and more energy efficient cooling technologies is expected to generate more than $ 270 billion in cost savings and public health benefits over the next 30 years, Regan said.

A pandemic relief and spending bill passed by Congress last December directs the EPA to dramatically reduce the production and use of HFCs. The measure garnered wide support and was hailed as the most important climate change law in at least a decade.

In addition to targeting HFCs, the American Act on Innovation and Manufacturing, or AIM, also promotes technologies to capture and store carbon dioxide produced by power and manufacturing plants and calls for reductions in diesel emissions from buses and other vehicles.

Senator Tom Carper, D-Del., Who is chairman of the Senate Public Works and Environment Committee, was an influential supporter of the bill, along with Senator John Kennedy, R-Los Angeles. Both represent states that are home to chemical companies that produce alternative refrigerants and sought regulatory certainty through federal action.

The HFC provision was supported by an unusual coalition that included major business and environmental groups, including the National Manufacturers Association, the American Chemistry Council, and the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute. The chemistry council represents leading companies, including Dow, DuPont, Honeywell, Chemours, and Arkema.

The administration said it is also taking other steps to ensure reductions in HFCs, including creating an interagency task force to prevent the illegal trade, production, use or sale of the climate-damaging gases. The task force will be chaired by the Department of Homeland Security and EPA’s Air and Radiation and Compliance Assurance and Compliance offices.

Working with the Justice, State and Defense departments, the task force “will detect, deter and disrupt any attempt to illegally import or produce HFCs in the United States,” the White House said in a statement. fact sheet.

Joseph Goffman, a senior official in the EPA’s air and radiation office, said the experience of the European Union shows that law enforcement is an important part of the crackdown on HFCs.

“Unfortunately, (the EU) has experienced a lot of illegal activity” on HFC imports and other problems, Goffman said. “We are going to be vigorous and proactive” in trying to stop illegal imports, he said.

Biden issued an executive order in January covering a 2016 amendment to the 1987 Montreal Protocol on ozone pollution. That amendment requires the United States and other major industrialized countries to reduce HFCs by 85% by 2036. The State Department has prepared documents for the formal ratification of the amendment, but the White House has not submitted them to the Senate.

McCarthy insisted there is “no delay” on the amendment, but said he did not know when Biden would bring the matter to the Senate.