The EPA announced on September 23 a final rule to establish a new program to manage, recycle, and reuse hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) under the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act.
The agency notes that the final rule includes provisions that will reduce wasteful leaks from large refrigeration and air conditioning equipment.
The AIM Act authorizes EPA to address HFCs in three main ways, and EPA has now issued final rules to implement all three of these pillars: phasing down their production and consumption through an allowance allocation program – through which EPA is implementing a 40% reduction of HFCs that started this year; facilitating the transition to next-generation technologies through sector-based restrictions; and promulgating regulations for purposes of maximizing reclaiming and minimizing releases of HFCs from equipment and ensuring the safety of technicians and consumers.
The final rule, establishing the Emissions Reduction and Reclamation (ER&R) program, addresses the third part of the bipartisan AIM Act, and comes less than two years after he U.S. ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement to phase down climate-damaging HFCs and help avoid up to 0.5 degrees Celsius of global warming by 2100.
By reducing leaks and promoting innovative reuse of existing HFCs, this final rule will help the nation achieve an 85% HFC phasedown by 2036.
The ER&R program will help minimize releases of HFCs from equipment by addressing leaks across the lifespan of refrigerant-containing equipment, such as air conditioners and refrigeration systems, while also maximizing the reuse of existing HFCs — supporting a growing industry for recovering HFCs from existing equipment and reclaiming them to be used again, all while reducing lifecycle emissions.
Earlier this year, EPA announced grant recipients for funding from the Inflation Reduction Act to support innovation on HFC reclamation.
“The final rule will support a growing American industry for HFC recycling and reclamation, building on the Administration’s successful implementation of a 10% HFC reduction step on production and imports in 2022 and 2023 and ongoing implementation of the 40% reduction step that started this year – major results that we have delivered while working in partnership with industry to create good-paying jobs and strengthen American leadership on innovative HFC alternatives," said White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi, in a statement.
The final ER&R program includes requirements for repairing leaking equipment, the installation and use of automatic leak detection systems on large refrigeration systems, using reclaimed HFCs to service certain existing equipment, minimizing HFC releases from fire suppression equipment, fire suppression technician training, and removal of HFCs from disposable cylinders before they are discarded. The regulations also establish a standard that limits the amount of new, or virgin, HFCs that can be contained in reclaimed HFC refrigerants. Additionally, the EPA is establishing alternative standards under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act for ignitable spent refrigerants when recycled for reuse.
EPA estimates that in addition to the benefits from prior HFC actions, from 2026 through 2050, this rule will provide additional cumulative greenhouse gas emissions reductions of approximately 120 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, an incremental net benefit of at least $6.9 billion.
Avipsa Mahapatra, Climate Campaign Director, Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA US) points out that this ruling will provide "a powerful example for other countries looking to regulate climate pollution from the cooling sector, especially as we push for robust refrigerant management globally, including at the Montreal Protocol.”