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Climate-warming refrigerants and fire suppressants known as
hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) will see their production and use in the
US whittled down to 15% of to-be-determined baseline levels by 2036
under a final rule released 23
September.
Starting with a 10% reduction in 2022, the phasing down will
occur in a gradual fashion through an allowance allocation and
trading program that Congress in late 2020 mandated the US
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) implement under the American Innovation and
Manufacturing (AIM) Act.
The EPA also will be part of an interagency task force, which
will include the Department of Homeland Security, aimed at
preventing illegal imports and trading of HFCs.
HFCs are a synthetic class of chemicals that were initially
promoted and used as alternatives to ozone-depleting substances to
meet the Montreal Protocol of 1987. Since then, scientists have
noted that these chemicals have very high global warming potential,
at least 1,000 times more potent than CO2, and pushed for their
replacement as well.
"Cutting these climate 'super pollutants' protects our
environment, strengthens our economy, and demonstrates that America
is back when it comes to leading the world in addressing climate
change and curbing global warming in the years ahead," said EPA
Administrator Michael Regan in a 23 September statement
accompanying the rule, which was proposed in May.
Business groups, notably the US Chamber of Commerce Global
Energy Institute, said EPA has maintained an "appropriate
transition" for manufacturers. The Air Conditioning, Heating &
Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) said its members—who produce and
use HFC refrigerants—are pleased that the EPA finalized the
allocation rule on time, as the AIM Act required.
"Predictability is a very important aspect of the manufacturing
process, and this timely rule ensures that our member companies are
aware of this regulatory terrain for the coming years," AHRI
President Stephen Yurek said.
Following China's lead
The US rule comes a week after China prohibited direct emissions of
HFC-23 from production processes for the commonly used refrigerant
hydrochloroflourocarbon (HCFC-22).
China's directive, which also includes guidelines for management
and disposal of HFC-23, was released to coincide with the "Kigali
Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the
Ozone Layer" that for China took effect on 15 September after
President Xi Jinping announced he would accept it at the Leaders
Summit on Climate in late April.
In his 27 January executive order to
tackle the climate crisis at home and abroad, President Joe
Biden directed Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to submit the
Kigali treaty to the Senate for ratification within 60 days of
signing the order. That order is yet to be fulfilled despite
bipartisan support for the AIM Act in the Senate.
"Now that the Biden administration is putting the AIM Act into
action, there's no reason to delay ratification of the Kigali
Amendment. Let's join the rest of the world as we phase down
hydrofluorocarbons and lead this new era of climate action," said
US Senator Tom Carper, Democrat-Delaware, who joined Regan for the
rule's release.
As a signatory to the Paris climate agreement, Biden announced a goal on 22 April to
halve GHGs across the US economy by 2030. Regan said the rule will
help the US meet this climate goal, though the contribution of HFCs
to total US GHGs is small in comparison to CO2 releases. In 2019,
EPA reported HFCs as well as other chlorinated hydrocarbons
represented 2.8%, or 170.6 million metric tons (mt) CO2-equivalent,
of total US GHGs.
Montreal Protocol helped avoid "irreversible" climate
impacts
The Montreal Protocol, and the subsequent Kigali amendment that
took effect in January 2019, are responsible for avoiding about 1.7
degrees Celsius of warming due to mandatory reductions of
super-polluting chemicals—chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), HCFCs,
and now HFCs—used primarily as refrigerants in cooling
equipment.
"Without the Montreal Protocol, climate change would already be
extensive and irreversible, and we should once again thank this
brilliant agreement for all that it has done," the Washington-based
Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development said on
International Ozone Day, which falls on 16 September.
Owing to the HCFC rule, EPA projects total GHG reductions
between 2022 and 2050 will amount to the equivalent of 4.6 billion
mt of CO2—nearly equal to three years of US power sector
emissions at 2019 levels or 1.606 billion mt CO2-equivalent.
In 2036 alone, the year of the final reduction step, the EPA
said, "this rule is expected to prevent the equivalent of 171
million metric tons of CO2 emissions—roughly equal to the
annual GHG emissions from one out of every seven vehicles
registered in the United States."
EPA to establish baselines
In line with the AIM Act and its refrigerant rule, the EPA will
establish baselines for consumption and use, issuing allowances
each year on 1 October so companies may produce or import HFCs in
the following calendar year.
Companies will not be allowed to roll unused allowances, which
are valid between 1 January and 31 December, over to the next
year.
Under the rule, the EPA said it will establish a mechanism
through which allowances can be traded and sold, with an offset
that results in a greater reduction of HFC production or
consumption. The agency also will have to ensure that sufficient
allowances are available to meet the estimated needs in six types
of uses listed in the AIM Act:
Fire suppression in armored vehicle engines and
shipboards;
propellants in metered dose inhalers;
defense sprays;
structural composite preformed polyurethane foam for marine use
and trailer use;
etching of semiconductor material or wafers and the cleaning of
chemical vapor deposition chambers within the semiconductor
manufacturing sector; and
onboard aerospace fire suppression.
The EPA said it will revisit the trading program and its
allocations for subsequent years based on how it fares in the first
two years of implementation.
David Doniger, senior strategic director with the Natural
Resources Defense Council's Climate & Clean Energy Program,
credited the EPA with not only phasing out HFCs but also starting
the process for evaluating substitutes.
"Moving from HFCs to climate-friendlier alternatives is an
important part of President Biden's plan to meet the climate crisis
by cutting America's heat-trapping emissions at least in half by
2030—with big benefits for jobs, our health and a safer
future," Doniger said.
EPA said it will facilitate transitions to next-generation
technologies by establishing restrictions on specific HFC uses and
evaluating the availability of substitutes for the regulated HFCs.
The agency said it has received applications to limit HFC use in
refrigeration, air conditioning, aerosols, and other applications,
but said it would evaluate whether further restrictions are needed
in a separate rulemaking.
Posted 23 September 2021 by Amena Saiyid, Senior Climate and Energy Research Analyst