In what has been called a “victory for combatting climate change and securing U.S. jobs,” according to an article from CNBC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is curbing the use and production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The chemicals, which are widely used in air conditioning and refrigeration, are reportedly thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide at warming the planet.
The EPA says the rule should reduce “the equivalent of 4.7 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide by mid-century, or roughly three years’ worth of emissions from the country’s power sector at 2019 levels.” According to CNBC, some major chemical companies and the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute, a trade group that represents manufacturers of heating and cooling equipment, support the EPA’s action and are already moving to more climate-friendly refrigerants.
Read the entire article here.
