Updated by editor 10/25/2022: Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are potent greenhouse gases intentionally developed as replacements for ozone-depleting substances in the refrigeration, air conditioning, aerosols, fire suppression, and foam-blowing sectors, but they have global warming potentials that can be hundreds to thousands of times greater than carbon dioxide, writes the EPA. HFC use is growing due to the phaseout of ozone-depleting substances and the increasing use of refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment globally.
The American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act was enacted by Congress on December 27, 2020. The AIM Act directs EPA to address HFCs by "phasing down production and consumption, maximizing reclamation and minimizing releases from equipment, and facilitating the transition to next-generation technologies through sector-based restrictions."
On October 20, 2022, the EPA announced additional actions to phase down the use of HFCs. The proposed actions would establish the methodology for allocating HFC production and consumption allowances starting with calendar year 2024 allowances. EPA is proposing to continue applying a similar methodology to allocate production and consumption allowances as the Agency did in the Framework Rule for calendar years 2022 and 2023. The EPA intends to start using the approach established through this rulemaking to issue allowances for 2024 by October 1, 2023, the organization says.
Read on for the original article from 2011.
Prodded by companies as diverse as Ben and Jerry’s, General Electric, A.S. Trust & Holdings, and True Manufacturing, the EPA has approved three alternative refrigerants to replace hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in commercial and household freezers through its Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program.
The EPA ruling has legalized the use of hydrocarbons propane, isobutane, and a chemical known as R-441A (a hydrocarbon blend also known as HCR188C) as refrigerants to replace chlorofluorocarbon CFC-12 and hydrochlorofluorocarbon HCFC-22 in household refrigerators, freezers, combination refrigerator-freezers, and commercial stand-alone units.
According to the EPA, replacing older refrigerants will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 600,000 metric tons by 2020, and it is the first time that hydrocarbon substitutes will widely used in the U.S.
Under the Clean Air Act, the SNAP program evaluates substitute chemicals and technologies for ozone-depleting substances (ODS).
Part of the challenge to eliminating use of ozone depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) has been the high global warming potential of some hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) used as substitutes, despite their zero ozone depletion potential.
A recent study from the UN Environment Programme finds that the increase in HFC emissions is projected to offset much of the climate benefit achieved by the earlier reduction in the emissions of ozone depleting substances.
The EPA classifies hydrocarbons as substances with zero ozone depletion potential, and also a low global warming potential.
Photo: Ben & Jerry's
