EPA Issues New Rule to Cut Climate-Warming HFCs

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a final ruletoday that will help curb the emissions of climate-warming hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The rule sets new HFC leak prevention requirements and will require servicing several major categories of existing equipment with reclaimed HFCs, starting in 2029.

The following is a statement from Richie Kaur, Senior Advocate at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council): 

"Reducing leaks and reusing HFCs recovered from old equipment protects our climate by decreasing emissions and the need to produce new HFCs. This action will slash the super pollutants that are fueling the climate crisis, providing $6.9 billion in net climate benefits to society cumulatively through 2050."

Background:

In October 2023, EPA first proposed this Emissions Reduction and Reclamation (ERR) rule, which included requirements to manage and repair leaks for refrigeration systems. Additionally, EPA had proposed world-leading requirements to use reclaimed and recycled HFCs as refrigerants and fire suppressants for first fill in new products and for servicing existing systems. These types of requirements are vital for reducing emissions and the demand for new HFCs to complement the supply reduction under the phasedown.

This EPA action builds on petitionsfiled by NRDC and others to implement the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, the climate law enacted in 2020 to cut the use of these super pollutants by 85 percent over 15 years. That bipartisan legislation authorized EPA to act on HFCs in three main ways: 1) phase down HFC production and consumption, 2) facilitate transitions to climate-friendly alternatives across different end-use sectors, and 3) maximize reclamation and minimize HFC releases from equipment. The HFC phasedown, including this rule, has the support of both industry and environmental groups. Implementation of the AIM Act via robust HFC regulations will also help the U.S. fulfill its commitments made under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement to phase down super-polluting HFCs to combat the climate crisis.

This EPA final rule is related to the third leg of the AIM Act, namely maximizing reclamation and minimizing releases. Pursuant to this rule, various requirements for better management and reuse of HFCs will go into effect between 2026 and 2030. For refrigerant leak management, EPA has finalized several requirements related to leak inspection, repair, reporting, and recordkeeping for various commercial, industrial, and mobile appliances containing 15 pounds or more of HFCs. Additionally, the largest refrigeration systems, such as those used in supermarkets and for industrial processes, will need to install automatic leak detection systems which can significantly reduce both, direct HFC emissions from those systems as well as the indirect carbon footprint and costs related to their energy consumption. To increase refrigerant recovery and reuse, EPA has finalized requirements to use reclaimed HFCs for servicing existing supermarket systems, refrigerated transport equipment, and commercial ice makers. Apart from being used as refrigerants, HFCs are also used for other purposes, such as fire suppressants. This rule will require better release management and recycling of HFC fire suppressants.

With this rule, EPA has laid the foundation for a circular economy that can increase the reuse of existing HFCs (and its blends) thus reducing the need for production and import of more virgin HFCs and disincentivizing releases of those super pollutants into the atmosphere. With time, EPA should strengthen these requirements, ensuring that all HFC end-use sectors either transition away from super-polluting HFCs or reuse them until the equipment is retired.

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NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd). 

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