Biden announces crackdown on coolants used in AC units

The Biden administration finalized a rule this week to significantly restrict coolants commonly used in air conditioning units, yet another strike by the administration against home appliances.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in a press release that, beginning in 2024, the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a coolant in many air conditioners and refrigerators, must be reduced by 40% over the following 4 years, with an 85% reduction target by 2036.

The EPA called the substance a "climate super-pollutant" and said cracking down on HFCs helps make sure America remains the "global leader in the fight against climate change."

The Biden administration has proposed HFC phasedown efforts going back to 2021.

While some researchers have claimed that combating HFC emissions could slow global warming by 0.5 degrees Celsius by 2100, others have suggested this is based on flimsy science. 

Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Patrick Michaels and American Enterprise Institute’s Benjamin Zycher, published a joint op-ed in the Washington Examiner in which they concluded that an "HFC phaseout makes no sense" with respect to combating climate change.

Based on the EPA’s estimate that the HFC phaseout would result in 4.7 million tons of CO2 being eliminated in terms of U.S. output by 2050, the pair deduced that the "equivalent reduction" worldwide "would be 17 one-thousandths of 1 percent, the temperature effect of which would be undetectable."

Nonetheless, some Democrats are convinced it’s necessary. Congressman Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) said in the press release that "phasing down hydrofluorocarbons is a critical component of our national climate action strategy."

In 2022, President Biden signed the Kigali Amendment, which allows for more stringent regulations on ozone-depleting substances, with HFCs being considered one of them.

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