EPA Moves To Cut A Group Of Powerful Greenhouse Gases
Source: NPR
By REBECCA HERSHER
The Environmental Protection Agency is cracking down on a powerful class of greenhouse gases that are used in refrigerators, air conditioners and building insulation. On Monday, the agency announced a new regulation that would dramatically decrease production and use of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, over the next 15 years.
It's the first concrete regulatory step the Biden administration has taken to tackle planet-warming emissions since the president announced ambitious goals 10 days ago to cut U.S. emissions by half in the next decade.
When they get into the atmosphere, hydrofluorocarbons are extremely good at trapping heat — much better than carbon dioxide. Some HFCs can linger in the atmosphere for 250 years or more. Total U.S. emissions of fluorinated gases, of which HFCs are a subset, have been increasing steadily in the last three decades because of ever-increasing demand for refrigeration and air conditioning.
The EPA's new regulation would slash HFC production, import and use, beginning in 2022. The agency said its goal is to reduce HFC production and import by 85% over the next 15 years. The pandemic relief bill passed by Congress late in 2020 includes a section that requires such cuts to hydrofluorocarbons and directs the EPA to help industries that use HFCs transition to cleaner substitutes.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2021/05/03/993054374/epa-moves-to-cut-a-powerful-greenhouse-gas
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