Industry and greens welcome EPA bans
Refrigerant producers, refrigeration equipment manufacturers and green groups have welcomed the US EPA’s usage bans on high GWP HFCs.
Yesterday’s announcement that certain HFCs, including R404A, are to be delisted from the US EPA’s Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Programme has been described as “momentous rulemaking” by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). The Natural Resources Defense Council called it “well-timed”, and even industry was quick to applaud the move.
“This rulemaking is a significant step forward in the fight against climate change,” said Lisa Handy, senior policy advisor at the EIA. “By reducing these amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, the EPA is showing continued leadership, both by supporting President Obama’s Climate Action Plan and serving as an example to industry leaders.”
David Doniger, director of the Climate and Clean Air Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), welcomed the move, describing it as “another critical step to cut the heat-trapping pollution that drives dangerous climate change”.
Both see the US move as an important driver towards reaching global phase-down agreements under the Montreal Protocol …