"The latest actions aim to reduce emissions from chemicals that can be thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide in warming the planet".
"The Environmental Protection Agency announced plans Thursday to further cut emissions of climate super-pollutants widely used in air conditioning and refrigeration, the latest step in the United States’ effort to phase down the potent greenhouse gases.
The federal agency’s new proposed rule would set guidelines to lower the number of available allowances for the production and use of hydrofluorocarbons — chemicals that can be thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide in warming the planet — to 40 percent below historical levels starting in 2024.
“This is a really strong step forward,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a phone interview Thursday. Because the production and consumption of these powerful chemicals need to be phased down, Regan added that the Biden administration is pushing to create “the next generation of chemical compounds that don’t sacrifice the comforts or the needs that we have, but makes significant inroads in staving off the climate crisis while boosting American manufacturing.”"
Allyson Chiu reports for the Washington Post October 20, 2022.
