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Inorning the lIslative debat inc 191
June 7, 2018
Potential Hydrofluorocarbon Phase Down: Issues for Congress
Potential Issues for Congress
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a potent set of greenhouse
gases (GHGs), are used in air conditioning, refrigeration,
foam blowing agents, insulation, and other applications.
While many nations are poised to phase down HFCs, U.S.
policies appear paused: Next steps in the executive branch
are unclear. Nonetheless, Congress may face several issues
related to possible phase down of HFCs both domestically
and internationally:
* The Senate may consider its advice and possible consent
to ratify a 2016 international treaty, the Kigali
Amendment, if the President submits it to the Senate.
Under the Kigali Amendment, Parties commit to
eventually phase out HFC production and consumption.
* Industry and environmental groups seek, along with
U.S. ratification of the Kigali Amendment, clarification
of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)
authority to limit HFC use after a federal court in 2017
vacated part of an EPA rule.
* If the United States joins the Kigali Amendment,
Congress may consider appropriations of the U.S.
contribution, if any, to international adequate
financing of HFC reduction efforts by low-income
countries.
* Should the United States not join the Kigali
Amendment, whether adverse trade issues could emerge
under restrictions on trade with non-Parties.
* Should the United States seek to address the risks of
climate change by controlling GHG emissions, phasing
out HFCs-or not-could affect the distribution of
effort among emitting sectors and the economic costs
and benefits. HFC reductions can be achieved at very
low cost per ton compared to many other GHG
reduction options. Deciding not to abate HFC could
raise the costs, difficulty, and time required to avoid any
given level of climate change risk.
Several legislative proposals have been introduced in the
115th Congress, but none has seen committee action.
Emergence of HFCs as Pollutants
HFCs were first manufactured in the context of efforts,
described below, to reduce damage to the Earth's
stratospheric ozone layer, which absorbs harmful incoming
solar radiation and also affects the Earth's climate. HFCs
(and alternatives) replace ozone-depleting substances
(ODS), including hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs).
[Figure 1 illustrates how HFCs (red) replace HCFCs
(yellow) which replace CFCs (blue).] HCFC use began with
low levels in the 1970s and accelerated after they were
approved as replacements for more potent ODS, such as
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
Although scientists believe HFCs would not significantly
deplete stratospheric ozone, they are GHGs, being efficient
absorbers of infrared radiation in the atmosphere. Their
potency, or Global Warming Potential, ranges from about
150 to 8,000 times more than the equivalent mass of carbon
dioxide (C02), the principal human-related GHG. Once
emitted to the atmosphere, various HFCs persist there for
hundreds to thousands of years.
Figure I. Estimated and Projected Emissions of ODS
and HFC Substitutes Without Kigali Amendment
Source: Guus Velders, Scenarios of ODSs and ODS Substitutes,
Government of the Netherlands, presentation given May 2, 20 11.
Notes: This 2011 analysis does not include control of HFC emissions
(red area), as would occur under the Kigali Amendment. Also,
depicting emissions of these gases by mass is not indicative of their
relative environmental impacts. High and low represent a range
of future emission projections.
From Protecting Stratospheric Ozone to
Phasing Down HFC
In the 1970s, scientists expected but had little evidence that
certain manufactured chemicals, including CFCs, would
damage the Earth's protective stratospheric ozone layer.
Regulation began in 1978 with U.S. restrictions on CFCs in
aerosol sprays under EPA authority in the Toxic Substances
Control Act of 1976, as well as Food and Drug
Administration authority in the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act. The Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of
1977 (P .L. 95-95) broadly authorized EPA to regulate any
activity that threatened the stratosphere and endangered
public health.
1985 Vienna Convention
In response to new scientific evidence in 1985 of the
springtime ozone hole over Antarctica, 20 nations,
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