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Fluorinated Gases

The chapter covers fluorinated GHGs, namely hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The DDPP reports seek to reduce HFC and hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) emissions in the United States by 96 million metric tons (MMT) CO2 equivalent (CO2eq) by 2050. HFCs replaced chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and HCFCs that have been phased out under the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer because they were depleting the stratospheric ozone layer. Due largely to their use as substitutes for CFCs and HCFCs, HFCs are the fastest growing GHGs in the United States, growing from 0.3 MMT CO2eq in 1990 to 149.4 MMT CO2eq in 2010. EPA, many states, and businesses have already begun acting to speed the phasedown of HFCs in the United States. There are a number of legal pathways at the federal, state, and local levels that would further reduce emissions of HFCs and speed markets to a safe transition to environmentally friendly alternatives. Additional climate benefits can be realized by simultaneously improving the energy efficiency of equipment during the transition away from high-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants.

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28 resources

Example Executive Branch

EPA’s SNAP Program

EPA’s SNAP Program was established under Section 612 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. § 7671k, et seq.) to identify and evaluate substitutes for ozone-depleting substances. The program looks at overall...
Example Private Entities

George Washington University Climate Action Plan

As part of its Climate Action Plan, GWU pledged that, as refrigeration and air-conditioning systems in all of its facilities are replaced over time, all new systems must use refrigerants with lower gl...
Example States and State Governments

NY’s Proposed SNAP Regulation

New York’s Proposed 6 NYCRR Part 494, Hydrofluorocarbon Standards and Reporting, would adopt prohibitions on certain HFC substances in certain end-uses as previously included in the SNAP program.
Example Executive Branch

Green Proving Ground Program

The Green Proving Ground Program uses the General Services Administration’s real estate portfolio to identify, test, and support the commercialization of cost-effective technologies to reduce energy a...
Example Executive Branch

GreenChill Partnership

EPA’s GreenChill Partnership with food retailers, technology manufacturers, and chemical manufacturers works to reduce refrigerant emissions and transition to environmentally safe refrigerants.
Example Congress

Title VI of the Clean Air Act and NRER Program

Title VI of the Clean Air Act represents the primary regulatory authority to control HFCs, which includes the commitments in the Montreal Protocol. Title VI requires EPA to develop programs that prote...
Example Executive Branch

EPA and NHTSA’s CAFE Standards GHG Credits Program

EPA and the NHTSA’s CAFE Standards GHG Credits Program encourages automobile manufacturers and importers to replace HFC-134a in mobile A/Cs. The program’s 2012 standards provide credits to manufacture...
Resource Executive Branch

Executive Order 14008

EO 14088, one of the first Executive Orders signed during the Biden Administration, has been hailed as “a mini Green New Deal” in effect. It has several disparate provisions aimed at climate and clima...
Example States and State Governments

California’s Automotive Refrigerant Rules

California adopted regulations in 2009 to reduce emissions from DIY mobile A/C units in cars and pickup trucks, and also included a deposit and recycling program to ensure proper disposal of used refr...
Resource Foreign

UNEP Report, Cooling Emissions and Policy Synthesis Report

UNEP’s 2020 report highlights how reductions of between 210 and 460 billion tons of CO2 equivalent emissions can be delivered over the next four decades through actions to improve the cooling industry...
Example Executive Branch

EPA’s Emissions Reduction and Reclamation Program

In September, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a final rule to establish the Emissions Reduction and Reclamation (ER&R) Program, which will help to better manage, recycle, and ...
Example States and State Governments

Maryland’s Proposed SNAP Regulation

In July 2020, the Maryland Department of the Environment proposed regulations to phase out the use of certain HFCs in foam products, refrigeration, commercial air-conditioning, and aerosol propellants...
Example Congress

HFC Cuts in COVID Relief Bill (2020) — Including Responsive EPA Proposals

In December 2020, Congress passed COVID relief legislation which included specific HFC measures. The legislation includes measures to direct spending to boost renewable energy and limit the use of HFC...
Example Executive Branch

California’s Sulfur Hexafluoride Regulations

California’s SF6 reduction program applies to all retailers and users of SF6 except for those using it for electric utility or semiconductor manufacture.
Example Executive Branch

Federal Acquisitions Regulation HFC policy

The Federal Acquisitions Regulation governs the acquisitions process for federal agencies and contractors. In 2016, a final rule amended FAR to require procurement of alternatives to high global warmi...
Example States and State Governments

California’s AB-32 and CARB’s Responsive Scoping Plan

California’s AB 32 requires a reduction in statewide GHG emissions, including HFCs, to 1990 levels, by 2020 (this target was strengthened by SB 1383 in 2016 to a 40% reduction in GHGs below 1990 level...
Example Congress

The Montreal Protocol and Kigali Amendment

The Montreal Protocol (1988) legally mandates the phaseout of the production and use of controlled ozone-depleting substances, setting phaseout obligations on a strictly enforced schedule. Parties mus...
Resource Executive Branch

Report, Climate Reregulation in a Biden Administration

This August 2020 report from the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law charts a course for executive action that, under a new presidential administration, would reverse the deregulatory agenda of the Tr...
Resource States and State Governments

US Climate Alliance Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Challenge

The U.S. Climate Alliance, composed of 24 states representing 55% of the U.S. population and 60% of U.S. GDP, has committed to reducing short-lived climate pollutants, including HFC. The Alliance plan...
Example States and State Governments

California’s Refrigerant Management Program

California’s Refrigerant Management Program requires any owner-operator of a facility with stationary, nonresidential refrigeration systems using more than 50 pounds of high global warming potential r...
Example States and State Governments

Washington’s SNAP Regulation

Washington’s HB 1112 adopts as state law the content of EPA’s SNAP Rules 20 and 21.
Resource Congress

Proposed Super Pollutants Act (2019)

This proposed 2019 legislation would reduce short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) in the atmosphere by enabling federal agencies to set up a taskforce with businesses and non-profits to speed the ado...
Example States and State Governments

California Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Strategy

The California State Legislature passed a law in 2014, codified at at Cal. Heath and Safety Code §39730.5, directing the California Air Resources Board to develop a comprehensive strategy to reduce sh...
Example States and State Governments

Vermont’s SNAP Regulation

Vermont’s S30 stipulates that products containing certain HFCs prohibited by the EPA in SNAP Rules 20 and 21 would not be allowed in Vermont in new equipment for specific applications as of specific d...
Resource Executive Branch

NRDC Report, US States Take the Lead in HFC Phasedown

NRDC’s 2019 report summarizes federal efforts to phase out HFCs, their shortcomings, and state efforts to fill the gap.
Example Executive Branch

Responsible Appliance Disposal Program

The RAD Program is a voluntary program to recover emissions from appliance foams. EPA provides technical expertise to its partner utility companies, retailers, and manufacturers to help ensure that be...
Example Executive Branch

SF6 Emission Reduction Partnership for Electric Power Systems

EPA’s SF6 Emission Reduction Partnership works with utilities to voluntarily commit to reduce sulfur hexafluoride emissions. The Partnership published a 2018 report detailing technical lessons learned...
Example States and State Governments

California’s SNAP Regulation

California SNAP is comprised of a regulation by CARB and Senate Bill 1013, also known as the California Cooling Act. Both the CARB HFC Regulation and SB 1013 took effect January 1, 2019. These policie...