Coalition Calls on EPA to Strengthen Protections for Vulnerable Communities and Promote Environmental Justice While Reducing Emissions of Climate-Damaging Hydrofluorocarbons
BALTIMORE (July 1, 2021) – Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh today joined a coalition of 14 attorneys general, 2 state agencies, and the City of New York in supporting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to establish a cap-and-trade program to phase down production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), as required by Congress under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (AIM Act). HFCs are extremely potent greenhouse gases that accelerate climate change and endanger public health.
HFCs are climate “super-pollutants” that are commonly used as a substitute for ozone-depleting substances in millions of consumer products from refrigerators and air conditioning units to cosmetics, spray cans, and household cleaners. They are among the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gas pollution globally, with hundreds to thousands of times the global-warming potential of carbon dioxide. EPA sought to phase out and regulate HFCs beginning in 2014, but HFC manufacturers and the Trump administration attempted to all but eliminate federal HFC regulation, increasing HFC emissions and creating significant uncertainty for chemical manufacturers and consumers. However, on December 27, 2020, Congress enacted the AIM Act with bipartisan support, directing EPA to reduce HFC pollution by, among other things, establishing a cap-and-trade program to phase out both production and consumption of 18 HFC substances by 85 percent by 2036.
“The EPA’s proposed program will help protect public health and the environment from the significant threats posed by HFC pollution,” said Attorney General Frosh. “Dangerous wildfires, unprecedented temperature highs, and warming of our ocean waters is clear evidence that we must take more forceful action to address climate change. The EPA should immediately implement this program.”
In comments filed today , the coalition asserts that EPA’s proposed trading program faithfully implements the AIM Act to phase down HFC production and consumption throughout the nation, reversing an unlawful and misguided trend toward loosening restrictions on harmful HFC pollution under the previous administration. The coalition also notes that states like Maryland have been at the forefront of tackling the climate crisis, including through state regulations to reduce HFC production and consumption, and urges EPA to quickly finalize and begin implementing this critical program to mandate similar reductions across the country.
In addition, the coalition emphasizes that “Environmental Justice communities and Native American tribal communities in our States and across the country are already experiencing the most damaging effects of a changing climate.” The coalition urges EPA, in finalizing its cap-and-trade program, to identify and minimize any potential harms to environmental justice communities, including Black and Latinx populations and low-income populations, as well as Native American tribal communities, which are already overburdened by other pollution and other environmental harms and health hazards.
In June 2018, a lawsuit was filed against the EPA in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for rescinding regulations prohibiting the use of HFCs through guidance, rather than a public rulemaking process, as required by federal law. In April 2020, the D.C. Circuit ruled in favor of the coalition and reversed EPA’s unlawful action. In July 2018, Attorney General Frosh joined a coalition of 18 attorneys general in urging the U.S Supreme Court to review a D.C. Circuit decision holding that EPA can no longer ban all uses of HFCs and other dangerous substitutes for ozone-depleting chemicals.
Joining Attorney General Frosh in filing the comments are the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Iowa, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Vermont; the California Air Resources Board and the Maryland Department of the Environment; and the City of New York.
###
BALTIMORE (July 1, 2021) – Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh today joined a coalition of 14 attorneys general, 2 state agencies, and the City of New York in supporting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to establish a cap-and-trade program to phase down production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), as required by Congress under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (AIM Act). HFCs are extremely potent greenhouse gases that accelerate climate change and endanger public health.
HFCs are climate “super-pollutants” that are commonly used as a substitute for ozone-depleting substances in millions of consumer products from refrigerators and air conditioning units to cosmetics, spray cans, and household cleaners. They are among the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gas pollution globally, with hundreds to thousands of times the global-warming potential of carbon dioxide. EPA sought to phase out and regulate HFCs beginning in 2014, but HFC manufacturers and the Trump administration attempted to all but eliminate federal HFC regulation, increasing HFC emissions and creating significant uncertainty for chemical manufacturers and consumers. However, on December 27, 2020, Congress enacted the AIM Act with bipartisan support, directing EPA to reduce HFC pollution by, among other things, establishing a cap-and-trade program to phase out both production and consumption of 18 HFC substances by 85 percent by 2036.
“The EPA’s proposed program will help protect public health and the environment from the significant threats posed by HFC pollution,” said Attorney General Frosh. “Dangerous wildfires, unprecedented temperature highs, and warming of our ocean waters is clear evidence that we must take more forceful action to address climate change. The EPA should immediately implement this program.”
In comments filed today , the coalition asserts that EPA’s proposed trading program faithfully implements the AIM Act to phase down HFC production and consumption throughout the nation, reversing an unlawful and misguided trend toward loosening restrictions on harmful HFC pollution under the previous administration. The coalition also notes that states like Maryland have been at the forefront of tackling the climate crisis, including through state regulations to reduce HFC production and consumption, and urges EPA to quickly finalize and begin implementing this critical program to mandate similar reductions across the country.
In addition, the coalition emphasizes that “Environmental Justice communities and Native American tribal communities in our States and across the country are already experiencing the most damaging effects of a changing climate.” The coalition urges EPA, in finalizing its cap-and-trade program, to identify and minimize any potential harms to environmental justice communities, including Black and Latinx populations and low-income populations, as well as Native American tribal communities, which are already overburdened by other pollution and other environmental harms and health hazards.
In June 2018, a lawsuit was filed against the EPA in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for rescinding regulations prohibiting the use of HFCs through guidance, rather than a public rulemaking process, as required by federal law. In April 2020, the D.C. Circuit ruled in favor of the coalition and reversed EPA’s unlawful action. In July 2018, Attorney General Frosh joined a coalition of 18 attorneys general in urging the U.S Supreme Court to review a D.C. Circuit decision holding that EPA can no longer ban all uses of HFCs and other dangerous substitutes for ozone-depleting chemicals.
Joining Attorney General Frosh in filing the comments are the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Iowa, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Vermont; the California Air Resources Board and the Maryland Department of the Environment; and the City of New York.
###