The Biden administration has announced stringent new rules to reduce the use of coolants used in most air conditioning units and other appliances in the name of fighting climate change, with experts warning it will likely mean Americans will have to pay more to stay cool.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week issued a final rule to slash the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by 40 percent by 2028 while decrying the chemical a “climate super-pollutant.”
The rule dovetails with earlier efforts under the 2020 American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act to reduce the production and consumption of these chemicals by 85 percent by 2036.
HFCs are a type of synthetic refrigerant that is widely used as a replacement for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), which are known for having properties that deplete the ozone layer.
However, while HFCs do not damage the ozone layer, they are potent greenhouse gases that EPA says contribute to climate change.
HFCs are used as refrigerants in most cooling systems, including refrigerators, heat pumps, and air conditioners.
Since the HFC phasedown first began on Jan. 1, 2022, the import and production of HFCs have required special allowances, with EPA saying in its Tuesday announcement that the number of these allowances will experience “a significant decrease.”
While there are HFC alternatives and more are being developed, it’s unclear how quickly the market could adapt and what kind of an impact the phaseout will have on the prices of air conditioning.
Ben Lieberman, a Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) who specializes in environmental policy, wrote in an analysis in 2022 that wholesale prices for commonly used refrigerants had already increased 400 percent since EPA first embarked on the HFC phaseout a year prior.
“Service technicians say that replacing refrigerant lost from a leak now costs upwards of $800, about double what it did a year ago,” Mr. Lieberman wrote. “Moreover, EPA’s HFC quotas tighten in the years ahead, so the ratchet will keep turning, surely causing homeowners’ bills to increase further still.”
And while the environmental benefits of phasing out HFCs have become conventional wisdom, these, too, have been challenged.
Some research has estimated that an HFC phasedown could avoid up to half a degree Celsius of warming by 2100, a goal that EPA cited in its announcement.
“The U.S. HFC phasedown program, bolstered by domestic innovation to develop alternative chemicals and equipment, is paving the way for the United States to tackle climate change and strengthen global competitiveness,” Joe Goffman, principal deputy assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, in a statement.
However, the claim that phasing out HFCs by 85 percent by 2100 would prevent a half a degree Celsius of warming has been challenged, with critics arguing that this conventional wisdom is based on questionable assumptions and dubious foundations.
‘Beltway Rent-Seeking’?
Patrick Michaels, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and Benjamin Zycher, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, penned a critical op-ed in the Washington Examiner when EPA first unveiled a proposal (pdf) to begin curbing HFCs back in 2021.
“The HFC phaseout makes no sense as part of a larger international effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” the pair wrote. They performed a calculation based on the EPA’s estimate that slashing HFCs in the United States would eliminate the equivalent of 4.7 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide.
“The 4.7-million-ton equivalent reduction would be 17 one-thousandths of 1 percent, the temperature effect of which would be undetectable,” they argued.
“This phaseout has nothing to do with environmental protection and everything to do with classic Beltway rent-seeking by a special interest group. It should be rejected,” they wrote.
Still, moves to curb the use of HFCs have seen rare bipartisan support in Washington and among industry.
The Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), which represents air conditioning, heating, and commercial refrigeration manufacturers, called the rule a key step on the road to implementing the AIM Act.
“This latest allocation rule is a critical step in the implementation of the AIM Act schedule for phasing down hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants,” AHRI President and CEO Stephen Yurek said in a statement.
“Our industry appreciates the work of the EPA and the timely issuance of this rule, as we prepare for the next HFC reduction step-down next January,” he added.
The American Chemistry Council, which represents chemical manufacturers and users, also welcomed the EPA rule.
“ACC has long supported the HFCs phasedown, which can reduce a sizable source of greenhouse gas emissions while creating manufacturing jobs and growing our nation’s share of the global market for air-conditioning and refrigeration products,” the group said in a statement.
U.S. companies have developed effective alternatives to HFCs, the group added.
Kigali Amendment
Efforts to phase out the use of HFCs and transition to alternative refrigerants with a lower environmental impact got a boost in September 2022 when the U.S. Senate voted to ratify the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which regulates the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances.
Twenty-one Republicans, including then-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), voted to ratify in a 69-27 vote.
President Joe Biden later signed the ratification of the agreement, calling it a “historic, bipartisan win for American manufacturing and global climate action.”
White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi said in a statement on July 11 that the HFC phasedown, “bolstered by domestic innovation to develop alternative chemicals and equipment, is paving the way for the United States to tackle climate change and strengthen global competitiveness.”
Mr. Zaidi added that the new rule will incentivize U.S. industry to develop next-generation technologies for refrigeration.
in 2022 that wholesale prices for commonly used refrigerants had already increased 400 percent since EPA first embarked on the HFC phaseout a year prior.
Bidenomics 101 — The President doesn’t appear to know anything about how the private economy works.
OR this treasonous, destructive, unethical, lying, woke, socialist Democrat Party and their corrupt, demented puppet president Joe Biden are deliberately trying to destroy our country’s economy.
MORE like he doesn’t CARE how the private sector works, as they want EVERYTING UNDER Govt control.
If Joe had not allowed tens of thousands of illegal entries of people with no job skills to create wealth, but only thief skills able destoy AC units by cutting and stealing the copper tubing for resale, thereby filling the planet with leaked ozone depleting refrigerants, maybe he would not be so concerned with Cow flatulance or our abilty to keep our Air conditioner units from being molested in a country populated by civilized people, not desperate hungry predators who will do anything to get their unfair share of YOUR American earned wealth and security? The AMerican climate did nt begin to change to the bad until our borders were overun with people who overwhelmed our streets, sanitary water systems, sewers, who ran up the cost of rationed food and housing beyond what any sane political leaders should allow.
I think Slo Joe and his (like the EPA “workers”) should be the first people to slash their use of HFCs, Practice what you preach. And
1. Get rid of the big fuel burning cars the Secret (now we know why they call Secret) Service for Slo Joe.
2. Remove all gas stoves and convert to electric stoves (I guess). BUT, 70 – 80% of electricity in the US is generated from fossil fuels.
3. Stop Kerry from flying in a private jet. Heck, stop him from flying. He’s worthless.
4. Stop using electricity (see #2 above). That will really affect global warming.
I’m sure there are a bunch more, but these would be a good start.
Require ALL GOVT workers to either ride public transit, OR WALK…
Biden should start by turning off the air conditioner s in the white house first. He should set an example. Democrats in Congress should also turn off the air conditioner s. What is good enough for us !! Is good enough for them
They will not because they know it’s just propaganda to control the American people.
However, while HFCs do not damage the ozone layer, they are potent greenhouse gases that EPA says contribute to climate change.
Here we go again, another CLIMATE CHANGE SCAM. This time conducted not by John Kerry but our Marxist/socialist CZARS in the all powerful EPA and all their LAWS. OOPS, make that regulations, Congress is making laws not the EPA.
The EPA will have to PROVE their bull —–to me. They are no longer believable with what they say.
WHEN HAS any bull they have come up with, been PROVEN!?!??!
More fake science from the fake president and the fake party
This is dark-ages level of science.