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WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has finalized a rule that phases out the use of a powerful planet-warming chemical used in air conditioners and refrigerators, in its latest effort to put climate change at the center of its agenda ahead of a pivotal United Nations summit.
According to a regulation expected to be released Thursday morning, the Environmental Protection Agency will reduce the use of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, by 85 percent over the next 15 years. The White House will also announce a task force and other enforcement efforts to prevent the illegal manufacture or import of the destructive man-made compound.
HFCs were used to replace those that deplete the ozone layer chlorofluorocarbons It was only in the 1980s that it emerged as a major driver of global warming. Although they are only a small percentage of greenhouse gases and remain in the atmosphere for a short time, they have a thousand times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide, which is the most polluting of the climate.
A White House fact sheet called the set of policies “one of the most significant climate action by the federal government” and said it would deliver the equivalent of three years of climate pollution reduction from the electricity sector. Experts said the rule would go a long way in helping the United States meet President Biden’s commitment to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions 50 to 52 percent below 2005 levels by the end of the decade.
The move comes immediately after an agreement between the US and Europe to eliminate one-third of global emissions from methane, another potent greenhouse gas, by 2030. So far, 15 countries that emit the most methane have signed up, including Mexico and Indonesia. and Iraq. The Biden administration is also preparing to introduce new regulations on the oil and gas sector, the largest source of industrial methane.
As nations prepare for global climate talks scheduled to take place in Glasgow in less than six weeks, the Biden administration is under increasing pressure to show that it can achieve this goal, especially as broad US climate legislation. facing an uncertain future in congress.
White House climate change adviser Gina McCarthy said in a statement that reducing HFCs is “necessary to meet the moment” on global warming. He described the policies as “a win for the climate and a win for American manufacturing.”
Environmental groups and business advocated the phasing out of HFCs and supported 2016. Agreement signed in Kigali, Rwanda, in the last days of the Obama administration and accordingly bilateral legislation It passed Congress in December. Several industry leaders said they were told by the White House that Mr. Biden plans to send the Kigali deal to the Senate soon for ratification.
Stephen R. Yurek, president and CEO of the Institute for Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration, a trade association, said embracing the Kigali agreement is important even though the United States is already moving towards implementation.
“It’s about reputation and reliability,” he said. He said formally joining the broader global effort is “good for the environment, good for the economy and good for trade”.
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