2015
Groups Demand Faster US Phase Out of Super-Greenhouse Gasses
October 6, 2015
In the continuing battle to phase down the super-greenhouse gasses known as HFCs, today environmental groups demanded that the EPA withdraw approval for these chemicals in all application where lower global warming potential (GWP) alternatives are now available. The petition, submitted by IGSD and NRDC, was filed with EPA under the Clean Air Act’s Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP). read more
California Governor Wants Fast Cuts to Short-Lived Pollutants
September 30, 2015
Following Governor Jerry Brown’s announcement last week, today the California Air Resources Board released the details of its ambitious new strategy to reduce short-lived climate pollutants. read more
California Gov. Brown Announces Bold Action on Short-Live Climate Pollutants
September 24, 2015
Governor Brown stated this afternoon that California will announce an aggressive plan next week to cut methane and HFCs by 40 percent and black carbon by 50 percent in the next fifteen years. This bold action was revealed today at read more
Giving the Cold Shoulder to Wasteful Air Conditioners
September 10, 2015
From Paris to Karachi, Seattle to Tokyo, 2015 has brought countries across the globe record-breaking temperatures. In addition to leading to wildfires, droughts, and thousands of premature deaths, it also has brought increasing demand for electricity to run air conditioning, leading to disruptive blackouts and reduced energy for other uses. read more
The Best Shot for Slowing Climate Impacts in Alaska and the Arctic
August 27, 2015
I worked in Alaska many years ago as a young attorney defending the forests, fisheries and other remarkable natural resources of the last frontier. The “termination dust” that fell every fall ahead of the deep freeze of winter made my job easier, providing an annual pause in development, with the cold winters that followed keeping the permafrost permanently frozen. Yet now, the vast and beautiful natural resources of Alaska and the broader Arctic region face their greatest threat of all: global warming. read more
White House Calls for Cuts to Key Short-Lived Climate Pollutant
August 18, 2015
The White House announced today federal regulations to reduce 2025 methane emissions from oil and gas production by 40 to 45% from 2012 levels. Methane is a short-lived climate pollutant (SLCP) and has the potential to quickly slow near-term climate impacts by reducing the immediate damages of climate change, including sea-level rise and extreme weather conditions. read more
Nations Closing in on Control of Super Greenhouse Gas
July 24, 2015
As midnight approached, the Parties to the Montreal Protocol took the unusual step of suspending, rather than adjourning, their Working Group meeting, to ensure they would be able to finalize terms for negotiating the final agreement to phasedown the refrigerants known as HFCs, before treaty’s annual meeting in Dubai 1 to 5 November. read more
Improving Air Conditioner Efficiency Could Avoid Up To 100 Billion Tonnes of CO2
July 20, 2015
Improving the energy efficiency of room air conditioners to the level of efficient units already on the market can provide climate mitigation up to 100 billion tonnes of CO2 by 2050, a substantial part of the mitigation needed to keep the planet from warming more than 2°C above pre-Industrial levels. read more
Cutting Soot, HFC Refrigerants, Other Short-Lived Pollutants Provides Political Opportunity
July 9, 2015
Fast cuts to short-lived climate pollutants will provide both short-term climate mitigation as well as the political confidence necessary for a broader international climate deal in Paris in December, according to a Nature Climate Change commentary to be published 13 July. read more
New Climate Economy Report Calls for Phase Down of HFCs Under Montreal Protocol
July 7, 2015
Phasing down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) under the Montreal Protocol is one of the top ten strategies for keeping the climate from warming less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels while also promoting strong economic growth and development, according to the New Climate Economy report released today. read more
