• Air

EPA Announces Rule to Reduce HFCs in New A/C and Refrigeration

• air conditioning
• climate change
• greenhouse gasses
• HFCs
• Kigali Amendment
• Montreal Protocol
• refrigeration

On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the first rule of the Biden administration to combat climate change. EPA Administrator Michael Regan has announced that the rule implementing the 15-year phase-out of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) passed by Congress last year. 

Why This Matters: Although HFCs have an atmospheric lifetime of about 15 years, which is less than any other GHG, and the most common type is 3,790 times more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide.

• Climate Change

Senate Proposes Bipartisan Amendment to Regulate HFCs

• HFCs
• Kigali Amendment
• Montreal Protocol
• Senate

HFCs or hydrofluorocarbons, are super greenhouse gases, manufactured for use in refrigeration, air conditioning, foam blowing, aerosols, fire protection, and solvents. However, unlike most other greenhouse gases, HFCs are not waste products but are intentionally produced. That’s why the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol was a crucial step by the global community to expand […]

• Climate Change

DC Appeals Court Restores a Portion of Obama Administration Climate Rule

• CFCs
• climate change
• DC Court of Appeals
• HFCs
• Kavanaugh
• Obama Administration

In 2017, in a case about a regulation banning the use of hydrofluorocarbons or HFCs issued by the Obama Administration, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. struck down one part of the rule saying it went beyond their what was permissible under the Clean Air Act. 

Why This Matters:  HFCs are a very potent greenhouse gas – as we have written recently, they have a global warming potential of 1000 to 3000 times that of carbon dioxide, and their use has increased exponentially since they were introduced in 1990.

• Climate Change

Trump Blocks Bipartisan Progress on Energy Innovation Because He Opposes States’ Rights

• federalism
• HFCs
• refrigerants
• states rights

An energy bill with bipartisan support was zipping through the Senate, but it ran into a roadblock when President Trump and conservative Republicans blocked an amendment that would have phased out greenhouse gas trapping chemicals called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) because the Democrats refused to ban states’ right to pass stricter standards on them.

Why This Matters:  The White House argues that any such phase-out should be governed by a uniform federal law to provide certainty and consistency across the country, but Congressional Dems claim that this “federal pre-emption” provision is not needed because if the federal law is stringent enough states won’t need to pass tougher laws.