The Biden-Harris administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency continue their progress in cutting super-pollutants, banning illegal imports, and speeding up their transition to cleaner new technologies to combat climate change and save money, according to the EPA's administrator.
The U.S. EPA's Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act is part of larger-scale efforts in the hands of the administration's whole-of-government stance that intends to cut climate pollution from damaging hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) while at the same time improving the competitiveness of U.S. industries and creating well-paid union jobs for workers.
“This will help the United States to meet our ambitious climate goals while allowing American companies to lead the way with innovative technologies" EPA Administrator Michael Regan said April 19.
Regan also praised Congress for its action.
“Congress provided clear, bipartisan direction to aggressively phase down super-polluting HFCs, and the Biden-Harris administration has stepped up to deliver a program that will ramp up more climate-friendly and energy-efficient alternatives, save money and stop illegal imports" Regan said.
In January, the EPA implemented the HFC Allowance Allocation and Trading Program as a result of the AIM Act. The program seeks to set a comprehensive cap on HFCs and phase them out of the economy. The phasedown is projected to decrease the consumption and production of HFCs by 85% as of 2036. This is expected to result in total emission reductions from 2022 to 2050.
