Press Releases

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) introduced legislation today phasing down the production and consumption of HFCs, potent greenhouse gases widely used in refrigerators and ACs. The bill has drawn significant bipartisan support, given the broad consensus among U.S. manufacturers seeking to capitalize on a transition to low-GWP HFCs.

The IPPC’s Special Report on Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, notes the cryosphere is already experiencing a number of globally consequential tipping elements and climate feedback loops that could permanently alter regional and global climate. In the next few decades, these will include mass loss from glaciers, permafrost thaw, and decline in Arctic snow cover and sea ice.

Losing the remaining Arctic sea ice and its reflective power to send incoming solar radiation safely back to space is equivalent to adding one trillion tons of CO2 to the atmosphere, on top of the 2.4 trillion emitted since the Industrial Age. This roughly equates to adding 25 years of additional global CO2 emissions.

Implemented in a new design called Secondary Loop Mobile Air Conditioning (SL-MAC), the lowest cost alternative refrigerant to HFC-134a has been identified as R-152a. This improved refrigerant is more energy efficient and requires less routine maintenance.

Inefficient ACs dumped into other countries overload energy resources, undermining national and local efforts to manage energy, environment, health, and climate goals, according to new analysis published in the Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum.

On 1 January 2019 the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol entered into force, mandating the phase down of super climate pollutants HFCs. The amendment has been ratified by 65 parties.

From developments in renewable energy, to the growing capacity of energy-storage systems and the adoption of electric vehicles, global action taken to combat rising temperatures has undoubtedly come a long way. But as climate impacts mount, little time remains to ramp up the necessary ambition to limit temperatures to 1.5°C.