2020 - Institute For Governance & Sustainable Development

Durwood Zaelke and IGSD hail John Kerry’s climate appointment to National Security Council by President-elect Joe Biden:

“John Kerry not only was instrumental in delivering the Paris Agreement, he also was key for winning the Kigali Amendment to phase down HFC refrigerants and avoid up to 0.5°C of warming—the single biggest bite yet taken out of the climate problem.”

“Kerry knows the need for speed—the importance of the 10-year sprint to cut HFCs and other super pollutants to slow feedbacks and tipping points on the way to the net-zero goal by 2050. He’s now in a position to quite literally save the planet.”

“Biden recognizes that climate is no longer just an environmental issue, but a national security issue, and he’s put Kerry in the right position in the White House. Kerry will ensure that climate moves to the heads of State level.”

See Remarks by Sec John Kerry at the Plenary of the 28^th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol to negotiate the phase down HFC refrigerants and avoid up to 0.5°C of warming.

See also IISD interview: Durwood Zaelke Talks HFCs, Kigali, Multilateralism, and the role of John Kerry.

Are you ready to take action on avoiding obsolete hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants that will be phased down globally under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer) and that are prohibited under various state laws?

Developed by the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC), in partnership with IGSD, the Procurement Recommendations for Climate Friendly Refrigerants is a toolkit designed to help select affordable, energy-efficient heating and cooling equipment that uses next-generation refrigerants that are more climate friendly.

While this toolkit focuses on avoiding climate change impacts of HFCs, it also takes into consideration refrigerant flammability, toxicity, and atmospheric fate of the replacement refrigerants. This document focuses on small heating, cooling, and refrigeration equipment where climate friendly alternatives are more readily available, cost effective, and compliant with US environmental and safety standards.

This document is the first formal output of the SPLC Climate Friendly Refrigerant Action Team. The Climate Friendly Refrigerant Action Team is dedicated to investigating global regulatory and voluntary programs to avoid and/or reduce emissions from high global warming potential (GWP) HFCs. It identifies opportunities and specific procurement options to:

Avoid high GWP HFC refrigerants when purchasing new energy efficient refrigeration and air conditioning equipment, and
Reduce refrigerant leakage and service emissions.

We invite you to read and put their work to use in your own procurement processes, and to offer additional insights and experiences to sharpen and improve the guidance over time.

Download the Procurement Recommendations for Climate Friendly Refrigerants here.

Much of the world is awash in unsustainable public and private debt, made significantly worse by the COVID-19 crisis. Efforts to relieve the debt crisis provide opportunities to advance climate protection, health, and economic goals together, specifically through debt-for-climate swaps, building on the success of debt-for-nature swaps.

Nearly 30 countries have utilized debt-for-nature swaps since the 1980s to provide more than USD $1 billion to protect the environment. Extending debt-for-nature swaps to the broader concept of debt-for-climate swaps would provide funding for climate mitigation and adaptation in developing countries, at a discount to creditor countries. In a debt-for-climate swap, instead of continuing to make external payments on outstanding loans in hard currency, an indebted country makes payments in local currency to finance fast climate mitigation and adaptation project on terms agreed upon between debtors and creditors. Swapping some of the unsustainable public and private debt for climate protection can provide relief for debt-distressed borrowers, create local green jobs, stimulate investment in clean technologies, and drive a more resilient economic recovery.

Swapping even a small percentage of global debt could direct billions toward climate protection to tackle the climate emergency while creating and maintaining millions of jobs essential for the economic recovery. In addition, creditor governments could use the relief to make good on their so-far unfulfilled promise to provide $100 billion per year in climate finance to countries vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

To learn more, see IGSD Background Note on Debt-for-Climate Swaps, August 2020

As the need for cooling rises in step with world temperatures, energy-efficient, climate-friendly appliances are critical to reaching the Paris Agreement goals;
3.6 billion appliances are in use now — 14 billion will be required by 2050 to meet all needs;
Experts urge the world to focus on improved cooling in post-pandemic recovery plans

Nairobi, Kenya – Coordinated international action on energy-efficient, climate-friendly cooling could avoid as much as 460 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions – roughly equal to eight years of global emissions at 2018 levels – over the next four decades, according to the Cooling Emissions and Policy Synthesis Report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Reductions of between 210 and 460 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide-(CO2) equivalent emissions can be delivered over the next four decades through actions to improve the cooling industry’s energy efficiency together with the transition to climate-friendly refrigerants, according to the report.

The report says countries can institutionalize many of these actions by integrating them into their implementation of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. Signatories to the Kigali Amendment have agreed to reduce the production and use of climate-warming refrigerant gases known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which has the potential to avoid as much as 0.4°C of global warming by 2100 through this step alone.

“Nations must deliver massive cuts in their greenhouse gas emissions to get on track to limit global temperature rise this century to 1.5°C. This is critical to minimizing the disastrous impacts of climate change. As nations invest in COVID-19 recovery, they have an opportunity to use their resources wisely to reduce climate change, protect nature and reduce risks of further pandemics. Efficient, climate-friendly cooling can help to achieve all of these goals,” said Inger Andersen, UNEP Executive Director.

The report highlights the importance of cooling to maintaining healthy communities; fresh vaccines and food; a stable energy supply, and productive economies. The essential nature of cooling services is underlined by the COVID-19 pandemic, as temperature-sensitive vaccines will require quick deployment around the globe; lockdowns forcing people to stay at home for long periods of time are a health concern in many hot countries.

However, increasing demand for cooling is contributing significantly to climate change. This is the result of the emissions of HFCs, CO_2, and black carbon from the mostly fossil fuel-based energy that powers air conditioners and other cooling equipment.

“As governments roll out massive economic stimulus packages to deal with the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, they have a unique opportunity to accelerate progress in efficient, climate-friendly cooling. Higher efficiency standards are one of the most effective tools governments have to meet energy and environmental objectives. By improving cooling efficiency, they can reduce the need for new power plants, cut emissions and save consumers money. This new report gives policymakers valuable insights to help them address the global cooling challenge” said Dr Fatih Birol, IEA Executive Director.

Worldwide, an estimated 3.6 billion cooling appliances are in use. The report says that if cooling is provided to everybody who needs it – and not just those who can afford it – this would require as many as 14 billion cooling appliances by 2050.

The IEA estimates that doubling the energy efficiency of air conditioning by 2050 would reduce the need for 1,300 gigawatts of additional electricity generation capacity to meet peak demand – the equivalent of all the coal-fired power generation capacity in China and India in 2018. Worldwide, doubling the energy efficiency of air conditioners could save up to USD 2.9 trillion by 2050 in reduced electricity generation, transmission and distribution costs alone.

Action on energy efficiency would bring many other benefits, such as increased access to life-saving cooling, improved air quality and reduced food loss and waste, the report says.

The report lays out the available policy options available that can make cooling part of climate and sustainable development solutions, including:

International cooperation through universal ratification and implementation of the Kigali Amendment and initiatives such as the Cool Coalition and the Biarritz Pledge for Fast Action on Efficient Cooling
National Cooling Action Plans that accelerate the transition to climate-friendly cooling, and identify opportunities to incorporate efficient cooling into stronger Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement;
Development and implementation of Minimum Energy Performance Standards and energy efficiency labelling to improve equipment efficiency.
Promotion of building codes and other considerations to reduce demand for refrigerant and mechanical cooling, including integration of district and community cooling into urban planning, improved building design, green roofs, and tree shading;
Campaigns to stop environmentally harmful product dumping to transform markets and avoid the burden of obsolete and inefficient cooling technologies;
Sustainable cold chains to both reduce food loss – a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions – and reduce emissions from cold chains.

The 48-page peer-reviewed report was authored by a range of experts under the guidance of a 15-member steering committee co-chaired by Nobel laureate Mario Molina, President, Centro Mario Molina, Mexico, and Durwood Zaelke, President, Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development, USA. The report is supported by the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Programme (K-CEP).

The report, Cooling Emissions and Policy Synthesis Report: Benefits of cooling efficiency and the Kigali Amendment, is available here.

For more information, please contact:

Terry Collins, +1-416-878-8712, tc@tca.tc ; Sophie Loran, Communication Officer, United Nations Environment Programme, sophie.loran@un.org; Jethro Mullen, International Energy Agency, Jethro.MULLEN@iea.org; Keishamaza Rukikaire, Head of News and Media, UN Environment Programme, rukikaire@un.org

Low-efficiency air conditioners comprise over one third of sales in focus countries; units contain obsolete refrigerants with high global warming potential

A new report on environmental dumping, released in advance of World Refrigeration Day, finds that 35% of the room air conditioners (room ACs) sold in many of Africa’s largest countries are low efficiency units with energy efficiency ratings of less than 3.0 W/W. Environmentally Harmful Dumping of Inefficient and Obsolete Air Conditioners in Africa details the extent of the problem across ten countries in Africa, ultimately providing policymakers with a set of solutions to encourage a transition toward highly-efficient, sustainable cooling technologies. The report was authored by CLASP in collaboration with the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development.

Analysis of ten countries (Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa) that account for 96% of the continent’s room AC market reveals that:

Of 650,000 new low efficiency ACs sold in Africa in 2018, 170,000 were imported products that would not meet the minimum energy efficiency standards in their countries of origin, and the remainder assembled using low-efficiency imported components and containing refrigerants that are powerful greenhouse gases.
One-quarter of the low-efficiency room ACs containing obsolete refrigerants were imported from non-African companies.
Three-quarters were assembled in Africa by one of three company types: local subsidiaries of non-African companies, joint ventures between smaller African assemblers and large, non- African room AC, or wholly independent African room AC assemblers, not part of a joint venture, importing components for and assembling low efficiency room ACs.

From 2005 to 2019, Africa’s market for new split room ACs grew by an estimated 14%, cumulatively*. Weak or non-existent energy efficiency policies and the lack of proactive anti-environmental dumping policies in many African countries have facilitated environmentally harmful dumping of inefficient, high-global warming potential (GWP)** air conditioner products into African markets.

The Montreal Protocol, designed to phase out numerous ozone-depleting substances, was amended in 2016 to include the phase down of substances that trap heat in the atmosphere and exacerbate global warming. As manufacturing and industrialized economies place increasingly stringent energy performance standards on room ACs sold domestically and implement refrigerant transition policies, importing African countries risk becoming even greater dumping grounds for inefficient, environmentally harmful products using obsolete refrigerants that no longer have a viable domestic market in their places of origin and soon worldwide.

“With energy demand growing across the continent, addressing environmental dumping issues would not only help countries achieve progress on their climate action goals, but would also help to ensure that African consumers gain access to affordable, high-quality appliances,” said Rebecca Schloemann, lead author from CLASP.

“Inefficient ACs are being dumped into Africa where they are ‘energy vampires,’ sucking up vital energy needed to recover from the pandemic and economic slowdown. Stopping environmental dumping and switching markets to efficient and climate-friendly cooling is essential in a warming world where heat and humidity extremes may soon exceed levels suitable for human survival,” said Tad Ferris, Senior Counsel for the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development, and a lead author of the paper defining environmentally harmful product dumping.

The prevalence of low efficiency room ACs puts extra strain on governments’ and consumers’ budgets. Customers pay higher electricity bills and countries pay more for electricity generation facilities, imported fuel, and electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure. Further, environmental dumping of air conditioning products with obsolete refrigerants increases future demand for these damaging refrigerants at a time when they will be expensive or unavailable in some markets, creating incentive for illegal chemical manufacture and trade.

The report outlines a series of recommendations for policymakers to halt environmental dumping and encourage a transition to highly-efficiency, low-GWP room ACs, modeling the potential impact of policy scenarios that could reduce 2022-2030 greenhouse gas emissions by 14-20% from current levels:

Ratify the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol and adopt implementing policies.
Design and implement energy efficiency policies consistent with major countries of export.
Strengthen institutional arrangements.
Revise tariffs on room ACs to ensure compatibility with energy efficiency goals.
Ban the import of secondhand, including refurbished, and inefficient room ACs and publicize and enforce the ban.
Implement government bulk purchasing and support for buyers’ clubs.
Properly recycle and dispose of obsolete room ACs.
Elevate solutions to regional level.
Engage local groups profiting under current system to trade in obsolete equipment as part of the solution.

Webinar: CLASP and IGSD hosted webinar on 1 July to present the findings of this report. A video recording of the webinar is available here.

* Euromonitor 2019. Euromonitor provides reported and modeled estimates for room AC market size by country. For most countries on the African continent, Euromonitor does not have reported sales from trade sources, and instead models approximate market size using national statistics (population, number of households, etc.).

** Throughout the report, CLASP refers to the GWP of refrigerants. To align with Montreal Protocol tracking, CLASP uses IPCC AR4 100-year GWP values. See https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/05/ar4_wg1_full_report-1.pdf

On May 21, 2020, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) released a draft regulatory amendment entitled the Regulation on the Administration of Ozone Depleting Substances and Hydrofluorocarbons. Written public comments on the amendment will be received until June 22, 2020, China time.

This draft amendment will, if promulgated essentially as proposed, significantly expand the scope of the existing Regulation on Administration of Ozone Depleting Substances (effective June 1, 2010). Importantly, the draft amendment proposes addition of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) management measures in light of China’s adoption and anticipated ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer.* For instance, the draft amendment indicates that the Ministry of Ecology and Environment will take the lead in drafting the China ODS Phaseout and HFC Phasedown National Plan for submission to the State Council for approval.**

The draft amendment also strengthens MEE enforcement tools and the scope of liability for those violating the draft amendment’s measures applicable to those producing, using, importing, or exporting regulated ODSs and HFCs. According to MEE’s Introduction to the draft amendment, included with the Circular announcing the draft, these changes draw upon MEE’s decade of experience in implementing the Regulation on Administration of Ozone-Depleting Substances (including recent enforcement campaigns).

Key Aspects of the Draft Amendment

The summary of the draft amendment provided below essentially reflects MEE’s Introduction to the draft amendment, included with the Circular announcing the draft.

Expanded Definitions and Scope. The draft amendment refines the definitions and scopes of production and uses of ODS and HFCs, including clarification of the definition of ODS and HFC production to cover co-production and by-production of ODSs and HFCs. The draft also expands the definition of ODS and HFC uses to include consumption of ODS and HFC blends. Further, the draft provides a more refined description of ODS and HFC uses, dividing such uses into controlled and raw material uses.

Expanded and Strengthened Regulatory Responsibilities. The draft amendment improves the administration system for the production, sale, and use of ODSs and HFCs. As amended, administration of these substances requires, among other things, automatic monitoring and harmless disposal of ODSs and HFCs that are by-products from production processes of other chemicals. Record keeping measures are imposed on all ODS and HFCs uses, except for exempted uses subject to total amount controls. Other amendments include a prohibition on sale of ODSs and HFCs for raw-material uses for controlled uses. The draft amendment also strengthens administration of production, sale, and use of phased-out ODSs and HFCs and imposes trade restrictions on ODSs and HFCs used in maintenance, recycling, and reuse activities.

Updated Regulatory Supervision Measures and Tools. The draft amendment, among other changes, will update regulatory supervision measures and tools, including requiring the publication of enterprise violation information through China’s social credit information sharing platform. The draft amendment also authorizes relevant regulatory agencies to conduct harmless disposal of ODSs and HFCs if the enterprises involved refused to undertake such disposal as ordered. In so requiring, the authorities would delete the provisions included in the Regulation on Administration of ODS (effective 2010) related to confiscation of ODSs and HFCs.***

Strengthened Liability for Violations. The draft amendment strengthens liability for violations of the amendment. The draft amendment adds liability provisions for violation of new requirements, e.g., failure to install or operate automatic monitoring equipment. The amendment also replaces the punishment of “license revocation” with the option to reduce violators’ ODS and/or HFC quotas or cancel such quotas. The amendment also raises the penalties on severe violations by replacing “static” penalties equal to 3 times the ODS market price or disposal cost with ranges of penalties that can be adapted to particular violation situations.

Enhanced Mechanisms to Support ODS and HFC Administration. The draft amendment enhances the reference to and use of financial, taxation, pricing, and government procurement mechanisms to support scientific research, technology development, and deployment of ODS and HFC alternatives and technologies, as well as the technologies and methods for the testing and monitoring of ODSs and HFCs. In addition, the national government will establish a national atmospheric ODS and HFC monitoring network. Also included is the requirement to incorporate restricted or prohibited ODS or HFC production and use processes, equipment, and products into the National Comprehensive Industrial Policy Catalog, which provides a more comprehensive and centralized reference point for all operations. Further, and notably, the draft amendment recognizes the right of citizens, legal persons, and other organizations to, according to law, obtain information on, participate in, and supervise the production, use, import, and export of ODSs and HFCs. Moreover, the draft amendment expanded the right of reporting illegal activity to HFC-related violations and requires that whistleblower personal information be kept confidential and that whistleblowers be rewarded, once reported information on violations of the Regulation is confirmed.

Bilingual Version of the Draft Amendment

A full bilingual (Chinese-English) version of the Regulation on the Administration of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODSs) and Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) (Draft Amendment for Comments), including our draft English translation for reference purposes, is available here. Our translation of the Circular accompanying the draft amendment is available here.

*See for background and context, Xiaopu Sun and Tad Ferris, The Kigali Amendment’s and China’s Critical Roles in Evolving the Montreal Protocol, Natural Resources & Environment 33(2), 2018.

** Article 5 of the draft amendment provides that the Ministry of Ecology and Environment takes the lead to draft National Plan for the Phaseout of ODSs and the Phasedown of HFCs for submission to the State Council for approval. The draft Amendment does not contain this plan, but sets the “regulatory foundation” for future, detailed HFC-related regulatory actions (including finalization of such a Plan), once China ratifies the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer.

*** For example, Article 31 of the Regulation on Administration of ODS (effective 2010) requires that in the case of ODS production without a quota permit, the ODSs produced will be confiscated. Under the draft amendment, Article 33 provides that in the case of ODS and HFC production without a quota permit, the ODSs and HFCs produced have to be harmlessly disposed. It also authorizes local departments of ecology and environment to conduct harmless disposal of ODSs and HFCs if the enterprises involved refused to undertake such disposal as ordered. The cost of such harmless disposal would be borne by the enterprise.

Washington, DC — Engineers and other experts from three continents, who designed new car air conditioning which saves both the climate and money, have been given a prestigious industry award.

An international team from the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD), MAHLE, and TATA Motors Limited (TML), has been awarded the 2020 Environmental Excellence in Transportation (E2T) Award in the “Mobile Energy and Emissions” category by SAE International (formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers). The team’s “Greener Auto Air Conditioner to Save the World” is an innovative motor vehicle air conditioning system that reduces the carbon footprint of mobile air conditioning (MAC), improves fuel efficiency, and saves both automobile manufacturers and owners money on operating costs.

The award, which showcases the work of individuals and teams who through their ingenuity and dedication have made significant innovations that reduce the environmental impact caused by the transportation industry, recognizes the team’s unrelenting drive to be “future ready” by developing a system with an affordable refrigerant that is nearly ten times better for the planet than the main existing one.

The team members who will be recognized include: Sangeet Kapoor, Prasanna V. Nagarhalli, Maneesh Arora, and Jagvendra Meena from TML (India); Timothy Craig, Lindsey Leitzel, and Dr. Sourav Chowdhury from MAHLE (Germany, U.S.); and Dr. Stephen O. Andersen and Dr. Nancy J. Sherman from IGSD (France, U.S.), with financial support from the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC), an initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme. The team also included Melinda Soffer and Kristen N. Taddonio from IGSD, James A. Baker from JAB Consulting and Denise Sioson San Valentin from CCAC. Canada and the USA were among those providing project oversight at CCAC.

The most common refrigerant used in today’s MAC systems is hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)-134a (R-134a), which has very high global warming potential (GWP) (GWP_100yrs = 1300). Over the last three decades, markets for such MAC systems have grown as a result of increased vehicle sales and demand for comfort, with significant consequences for the climate.

The use of current high GWP refrigerants in refrigerators and air conditioning systems could contribute up to 0.5°C (0.9^o F) of warming by the end of this century, with about 30% of this coming from MACs. The 2016 Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol mandates the gradual global phasedown of HFCs but accelerating it would greatly benefit the climate.

So far, however, adopting low GWP alternatives has remained slow in price-sensitive markets. The “’Greener Auto Air Conditioner to Save the World” project addresses this by using the low GWP, environmentally friendlier, and affordable refrigerant R-152a, which has a GWP of 138, nearly ten times smaller than that of HFC-134a, in a secondary loop configuration. It is the first commercially viable and cost-saving MAC system to use R-152a in an automobile with a front and rear AC system.

The prototype was successfully developed and validated on a TATA Motors Aria utility vehicle. The test results demonstrated a substantial increase in fuel economy without compromising on occupants’ thermal comfort.

“We are honored to be part of the team that developed this AC system, proving that affordability, efficiency, and environmental protection go hand-in-hand,” said Dr. Stephen O. Andersen, IGSD Director of Research. “This technology is ready to go, using off-the-shelf components,” said Tim Craig, Principal, Melrose Technologies LLC (Mr. Craig was formerly Head of Thermal Pre-Development at MAHLE Behr USA, Inc.). “The climate benefit is clear, and the fuel savings potential is the most compelling project outcome.”

“The adoption of R-152a-based secondary loop MAC (SL-MAC) systems by the auto industry would play a major role in curbing the rise in global temperature. This technology is low cost, and the refrigerant R-152a is patent-free, so SL-MAC systems can be implemented quickly and affordably,” said Kristen Taddonio, Senior Climate and Energy Advisor, IGSD. “This extraordinary team of engineers used a network of global advisors from countries including China, France, Germany, India, Italy, and the United States to bring this project to fruition.”

“IGSD is proud to partner with TATA, MAHLE, and the CCAC to prove that climate action can be both fast and affordable,” said Durwood Zaelke, President of IGSD.

SAE International press release, SAE International Announces Winners of Environmental Excellence in Transportation Award, is here.

Contacts: IGSD contact: Kristen Taddonio, Senior Climate & Energy Advisor, ktaddonio@igsd.org; SAE contact: Justin Falce, Strategic Communications Manager, Justin.Falce@sae.org

For more see:

SAE International, Next-Generation Refrigerant and Air Conditioner System Choice for Internal Combustion, Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (2020);
Climate & Clean Air Coalition, Webinar on the Secondary Loop – Mobile Air Conditioning Project: Final Results and Path Forward;
International Energy Agency, Cooling on the Move (2019).

Washington, DC – The California Air Resources Board (CARB) today announced that IGSD’s Dr. Stephen O. Andersen has been selected for the 2019 Haagen-Smit Clean Air Awards for leadership in environmental policy. Dr. Andersen earned this honor for lifetime achievement while working for the IGSD, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Sierra Club, the Environmental Law Institute, the Consumer Energy Council, the University of Hawaii and College of the Atlantic. He is best known as one of the leading figures in crafting and managing the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer but also found success in wilderness river protection, marine mammal conservation and energy efficiency. He earned his PhD in natural resources economics from the University of California Berkeley.

The Haagen-Smit Award is considered the “Nobel Prize” in air quality achievement and annually recognizes individuals who have made significant lifetime contributions toward improving air quality and climate change science, technology and policy, and the protection of public health.

“For those of us lucky enough to know Steve, we discover that he stays with us as a colleague and friend for the rest of our life,” said Durwood Zaelke, President of IGSD. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with Steve for more than 40 years, first at the Environmental Law Institute where we both worked on energy efficiency during the first oil embargo, then when he served as an expert witness in lawsuits I was prosecuting in Alaska to protect the state’s natural and cultural resources and then again when Steve was at EPA. He joined IGSD a decade ago after his distinguished career at the agency, and we’re were able to successfully organize the phasedown of hydrofluorocarbons under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, perhaps the single piece of mandatory climate mitigation ever undertaken.”

“I have known and worked with Dr. Andersen over many decades.” said Dr. Mario Molina, 1995 Nobel Prize for Chemistry Laureate “including co-authoring a paper where we laid out a set of strategies for fast action on climate mitigation, leading with efforts to strengthen the Montreal Protocol with the 1996 Kigali Amendment.”

“It is astonishing what Dr. Andersen has accomplished,” said Dr. David Fahey, Director of the Chemical Sciences Division NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory. “In authoring papers and assessments with Dr. Andersen on Montreal Protocol matters, I learned how amazingly effective he is in identifying, assembling, motivating and guiding so many initiatives to a successful conclusion while making that work a pleasure for already overworked experts.”

“I am honored to join the ranks of previous winners of the Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award,” said Dr. Stephen O. Andersen. “I particularly admire CARB for its fierce determination, undaunted courage, analytical prowess and global influence in caring for Earth.”

CARB’s release on all the 2019 Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award is available here.

Legislation will create tens of thousands of new U.S. jobs

Washington, DC — A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation on January 7^th to phase down the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), used primarily in refrigeration, and to transition the U.S. to more climate-friendly substitutes.

Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY), Pete Olson (R-TX), Scott Peters (D-Calif.), and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) introduced the American Innovation and Manufacturing Leadership Act (AIM Leadership Act) (H.R. 5544) as a companion to legislation introduced in the Senate October 30^th of last year.

The Senate bill, the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (AIM Act) (S. 2754), was introduced by Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and has since attracted significant bipartisan support, with 32 co-sponsors, divided evenly among Republicans and Democrats.

“These bipartisan HFC bills in the House and the Senate send a powerful signal to the world that the U.S. will phase down HFCs along with the rest of the world,” said Durwood Zaelke, President of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development. “The House and Senate bills are virtually identical in establishing a federal regulatory framework for HFCs consistent with the phase down schedule in the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substance that Deplete the Ozone Layer.”

Zaelke added, “the bills show that Congress appreciates how much the HFC phasedown will benefit U.S. industry in terms of the tens of thousands of new jobs that will be created and the profits that would otherwise be lost to foreign competitors.”

An HFC phase down will create 33,000 new manufacturing jobs, increase direct manufacturing output by $12.5 billion, and increase the U.S. share of the global HVACR export market by 25%, according to a 2018 study by the Interindustry Forecasting at the University of Maryland.

Leaders of the House Energy & Commerce Committee will hold a subcommittee hearing on the bill on January 14^th 2020.