The AIM Act instructs the EPA to address HFCs by granting administrative authority in three key areas: to regulate these HFCs and their alternatives, to phase down the production and consumption of specified HFCs, and to assist the switch to next-generation technologies through sector-based restrictions. The transition to alternatives through sector-based limits is the third area that is the focus of this proposed rule.
HFCs are strong greenhouse gases that were designed specifically to replace ozone-depleting compounds in the aerosol, fire suppression, and foam blowing industries. They have a potential to cause global warming that may be thousands of times larger than that of carbon dioxide (CO2).
The proposed rule would begin to limit the use of climate-damaging HFCs used in specific foams, aerosol products, and refrigeration, air conditioning, and heat pump equipment in response to petitions approved in October 2021. According to this plan, HFCs with greater effects on global warming will be prohibited.
The plan comes in response to petitions from businesses, trade groups, non-governmental environmental organizations, 12 states, and the District of Columbia, which asked EPA to limit the use of specific HFCs in equipment and products across 40 subsectors. The proposed restrictions were produced by EPA after examining petitions, holding stakeholder workshops, and taking into account a wide range of issues as outlined in the AIM Act, such as the accessibility of alternatives, safety, and the overall effects on the environment.
In the December 9th Press Release, Administrator of the EPA, Michael Regan asserts, “This proposal will support a transition away from the super-pollutant HFCs in key sectors of our economy while promoting American leadership in manufacturing of new climate-safe products, making our nation more globally competitive and delivering significant environmental and economic benefits.”
Read more about it in the EPA’s provided fact sheet!
