US Legislators Set to Phase Down Use of HFCs

(Photo: @pixel6propix/Unsplash) The Senate is expected to ratify a treaty amendment this week that would officially phase out the use of certain heavy pollutants. Hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, are industrial chemicals most frequently used in air conditioning and refrigeration. Though each type of HFC has a different impact on the environment, the category is overall considered far more damaging to the atmosphere than other pollutants, with the most common (HFC-134a) carrying 3,790 times as much climate-warming potential as carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. With more buildings around the world beginning to incorporate air conditioning, HFC-related emissions are expected to grow at a rate of at least 10 percent per year without legislative and industry action.

The Senate’s forthcoming stamp of approval is for the Kigali Amendment, an update to the Montreal Protocol international treaty that took effect back in the 1980s. The Montreal Protocol aimed overall to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the use of specific pollutants. (Researchers say most of the ozone layer’s recovery seen in recent decades would not be possible without the treaty’s global ratification.) At the time, it was focused on scaling down the use of halons and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). But it was HFCs that largely took these compounds’ place, which the United Nations Environment Programme says has challenged global attempts at slowing climate change.

(Photo: Sergei A/Unsplash)

The Kigali Amendment takes the Montreal Protocol a step further by specifically targeting HFCs. A total of 137 countries have ratified the amendment, which went into effect in January 2019, since its negotiation in 2009. While several other developed countries ratified the Kigali Amendment relatively quickly, the US didn’t—despite the fact that it has bipartisan domestic support.

Democrats like the amendment because it could reduce climate warming by up to 0.5 degrees Celsius (approximately one degree Fahrenheit) if it’s adopted globally. This would contribute significantly to the international goal of restricting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius within this century. Meanwhile, Republicans like the amendment for its ability to make American businesses more competitive. Several leading US air conditioning and refrigeration companies have openly supported the Kigali Amendment, as it could create as many as 33,000 domestic manufacturing jobs and reduce the need for imported goods, particularly from China.

According to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, legislators are poised to ratify the amendment this week. Should the Kigali Amendment receive approval as expected, it would require manufacturers to gradually scale down the production and use of HFCs, with a total ban taking place in 2047.

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