The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking a major step Monday to battle climate change with the formal proposal of a rule phasing down the use of planet-warming gases called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are used as refrigerants, the agency announced Monday.
The reduction will decrease HFC production and use in the U.S. by 85 percent over the next 15 years. The rule is being issued under a law passed last year by Congress.
The EPA said that phasing down the use of the gases globally would avoid up to 0.5 °C of global warming by 2100.
The agency said it will issue an allowance for how much of the gases can be used for 2022 by Oct. 1 and how much can be used for 2023 by that date next year.
The agency said that it will create a framework within the legal timeline for the phaseout, and will revisit allocating HFCs for 2024 and beyond.
The rule came after a bipartisan effort from Congress to pass a law to reduce the use of HFCs.
The Trump administration rolled back Obama administration policies aiming to fulfill the country’s commitment to reduce HFCs in an international agreement in 2016 called the Kigali Amendment.
