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1 1 (March 3, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/goveclw0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Inforrning the legislative debate since 1914 S March 3, 2021 Hydrofluorocarbon Phasedown: Issues for Congress Congress enacted legislation-the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act of 2020-to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) domestically (P.L. 116-260, Division S, § 103). HFCs are potent greenhouse gases (GHGs) used in air conditioning, refrigeration, foam blowing agents, insulation, and other applications. Multiple scientific assessments conclude that anthropogenic GHGs (e.g., carbon dioxide and HFCs) have been a major driver of observed climate change since 1950. AIM establishes a 15-year timeline to reduce domestic HFC production and consumption and directs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement AIM's requirements, including through regulations. AIM's phasedown schedule appears to align with international commitments to phase down HFCs under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. The United States is a party to the Montreal Protocol (MP). As of early March 2021, the United States is not a party to the Kigali Amendment. The Biden Administration has signaled its interest in international efforts to reduce HFCs. For example, Executive Order 14008 instructs the Secretary of State to submit within 60 days of January 27, 2021 (i.e., March 28, 2021), the Kigali Amendment for the Senate's advice and consent for ratification. Emergence of HFCs as Pollutants HFCs were first manufactured in the context of efforts to reduce damage to the earth's stratospheric ozone layer. HFCs are referred to as substitute refrigerants under the Clean Air Act (CAA), because EPA approved HFCs as replacements for ozone depleting substances (ODS). Although scientists say HFCs would not significantly deplete stratospheric ozone, HFCs are GHGs. Their potency, measured as Global Warming Potential, ranges from about 150 to 8,000 times more than the equivalent mass of carbon dioxide (CO2), the principal human-related GHG. Absent mitigation actions, global HFC emissions and consumption are projected to increase, especially in developing countries as demand rises for cooling services using HFCs. As discussed below, over 100 countries have committed to phase down HFCs under the Kigali Amendment. From Protecting Stratospheric Ozone to Phasing Down H :Cs In the 1970s, scientists expected but had little evidence that certain manufactured chemicals would damage the Earth's protective stratospheric ozone layer. Discussions about the stratospheric ozone depletion began internationally. In response to new scientific evidence in 1985 of the springtime ozone hole over Antarctica, 20 nations, including the United States, agreed to the 1985 Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer. Montreal Protocol (MP) Parties to the Vienna Convention adopted the subsidiary MP in 1987 to set binding, quantitative schedules for countries to phase out listed ODS. The MP provides for international cooperation on ODS substitutes and research, financial assistance, and trade restrictions with nonparties. The United States is among the 197 parties to the Vienna Convention and the MP. Kigali Amendment to the NP As MP parties agreed to accelerate the phaseout of certain ODS, discussions turned to the projected growth in HFCs as ODS replacements. In 2016, MP parties agreed to phase down HFCs and adopted the Kigali Amendment to the MP, its fifth amendment. The Kigali Amendment contains commitments to phase down HFC production and consumption globally. One estimate suggests that the Kigali Amendment HFC phasedown schedule could avoid as much as 0.50 Celsius of global warming by 2100. The Kigali Amendment provides for an unspecified amount of adequate financing, through a Multilateral Fund, to support HFC reductions in low-income countries and for research and development of affordable alternatives. It also contains HFC trade restrictions that are to go into effect on January 1, 2033, with parties that have not ratified the Kigali Amendment. The Kigali Amendment entered into force on January 1, 2019, having been ratified by at least 20 countries. As of early March 2021, there are over 100 parties to the Kigali Amendment. Developed countries began to phase down HFCs in 2019. Most low-income countries are to freeze HFC consumption levels in 2024, while certain low-income countries are to freeze consumption in 2028. Parties to the amendment agreed to reduce HFC use by 80%-85% of their respective baselines by the late 2040s. Clean Air Act (CAA) Title VI of the 1990 CAA Amendments addresses stratospheric ozone depletion by manufactured chemicals. It also implements the U.S. international responsibilities under the MP. Under Title VI, EPA allocated production and consumption tradable allowances for ODSs equal to the amounts accepted by the United States under the MP. Additional Title VI requirements include labeling ozone- depleting products and a program to approve safer substitutes. In the 1990s and early 2000s, EPA approved certain HFCs and HFC-containing blends as acceptable substitutes for ittps://Crsreports.congress.gt

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