Current:Home > MyThe U.S. ratifies treaty to phase down HFCs, gases trapping 1,000x more heat than CO2-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
The U.S. ratifies treaty to phase down HFCs, gases trapping 1,000x more heat than CO2
View Date:2025-01-12 23:24:43
Nearly six years after the United States helped negotiate it, the Senate has ratified a global climate treaty that would formally phase down the use of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, industrial chemicals commonly found in air conditioners and refrigerators, insulating foams and pharmaceutical inhalers.
The Kigali Amendment, an addition to the Montreal Protocol climate treaty, aims to drastically reduce the global use of the compounds.
"This measure will go a long way to lowering global temperatures while also creating tens of thousands of American jobs," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said before Wednesday's vote, which passed 69-27.
HFCs were widely adopted in the 1980s and 1990s to replace another family of chemicals, chlorofluorocarbon, or CFCs, which damage the Earth's ozone layer. But after the switch, HFCs emerged as some of the most potent greenhouse gases, hundreds to thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide.
Successfully phasing out HFCs around the globe could reduce warming by up to 0.5 degrees Celsius (or about 1 degree Fahrenheit) by the end of the century, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. As the world struggles to limit warming this century to 1.5 degrees Celsius to try to avoid several catastrophic tipping points, half a degree can make a major difference, said scientists.
The U.S. is already taking steps to eliminate HFCs
Reducing HFCs is one area of climate policy where environmentalists, manufacturers and politicians tend to agree.
"Stakeholders, from business to environmental groups, have urged the Senate to ratify the strongly bipartisan Kigali Amendment," said Stephen Yurek, president and CEO of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute, a trade organization.
Republicans have supported the phase-down as being good for business, while Democrats and climate activists praise it as good climate policy. The United States was involved in negotiating the terms of the amendment, which was signed in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2016, but never ratified it. More than 130 countries have signed on in some fashion, according to the United Nations.
The United States has already taken steps to adhere to provisions of the amendment before actually ratifying it. In December 2020, Congress passed the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act as part of an appropriations bill. It empowers the EPA to enforce a phase-down of 85% of the production and consumption of HFCs over 15 years.
Industry groups such as the Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy said the AIM Act is important, but that ratifying the amendment was still necessary to make American companies truly competitive.
"It's an enhancement of your market access. These are very competitive industries on a global basis, China being the fiercest," said executive director Kevin Fay.
His group estimated that ratifying the amendment would "increase U.S. manufacturing jobs by 33,000 by 2027, increase exports by $5 billion, reduce imports by nearly $7 billion, and improve the HVACR [Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration] balance of trade," by guaranteeing that U.S. companies will be adopting standards needed to sell products in countries that already ratified the measure.
On the climate side, there is some evidence that commitments to cut back on the use of HFCs are not being followed. A study published in Nature Communications in 2021 found that atmospheric levels of the most potent HFC, HFC-23, should have been much lower than what scientists detected if China and India, countries responsible for manufacturing the majority of the compound that turns into HFC-23, had accurately reported their reductions.
veryGood! (94886)
Related
- Wildfires burn on both coasts. Is climate change to blame?
- War crimes court upholds the conviction of a former Kosovo Liberation Army commander
- How Taylor Swift Celebrated Her Enchanting Birthday Without Travis Kelce
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine cast pays homage to Andre Braugher
- Are Ciara Ready and Russell Wilson Ready For Another Baby? She Says…
- Retail sales up 0.3% in November, showing how Americans continue to spend
- Why is Draymond Green suspended indefinitely? His reckless ways pushed NBA to its breaking point
- American Girl doll live-action movie in the works with Mattel following 'Barbie' success
- Black and Latino families displaced from Palm Springs neighborhood reach $27M tentative settlement
- 13-year-old accused of plotting mass shooting at Temple Israel synagogue in Ohio
Ranking
- Does your dog have arthritis? A lot of them do. But treatment can be tricky
- Updating the 'message in a bottle' to aliens: Do we need a new Golden Record?
- Naval officer jailed in Japan in deadly crash is transferred to US custody, his family says
- Pope, once a victim of AI-generated imagery, calls for treaty to regulate artificial intelligence
- Olivia Culpo Celebrates Christian McCaffrey's NFL Comeback Alongside Mother-in-Law
- Big pharmacies could give your prescription info to cops without a warrant, Congress finds
- Veteran Taj Gibson rejoining New York Knicks, reuniting with Thibodeau
- Female soccer fans in Iran allowed into Tehran stadium for men’s game. FIFA head praises progress
Recommendation
-
Former NFL coach Jack Del Rio charged with operating vehicle while intoxicated
-
With a rising death toll, Kenya's military evacuates people from flood-hit areas
-
Guyana and Venezuela leaders meet face-to-face as region pushes to defuse territorial dispute
-
Will the American Geophysical Union Cut All Ties With the Fossil Fuel Industry?
-
Mike Tyson employs two trainers who 'work like a dream team' as Jake Paul fight nears
-
Naval officer jailed in Japan in deadly crash is transferred to US custody, his family says
-
The family of a Chicago woman who died in a hotel freezer agrees to a $10 million settlement
-
Rising stock markets around the world in 2023 have investors shouting ‘Hai’ and ‘Buy’