On December 27, 2020, the President signed the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021,” which includes the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020 (AIM Act). The AIM Act directs EPA to establish a regulatory framework for phasing down the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) over a fifteen-year period. HFCs are targeted because they are a highly potent greenhouse gas.
In addition to the phase-down, the AIM Act gave EPA authority to restrict uses of HFCs. On December 15, 2022, EPA published the first proposed rule under this authority. EPA is proposing to restrict the use of certain higher-GWP HFCs in aerosols, foams, and refrigeration, air conditioning, and heat pump products and equipment. The proposed rule would prohibit manufacture and import of products containing restricted HFCs by January 1, 2025, in most cases, and would prohibit the sale, distribution, and export of products containing restricted HFCs a year later, which in most cases would be January 1, 2026.
Comments on the proposed rule are due January 29, 2023.
The Office of Advocacy is hosting a Roundtable on this proposed rule on Friday, January 20, 2023, at 10am via Microsoft Teams.
- Read EPA’s information about the proposed rule.
- Read the proposed rule.
- Submit a public comment to the docket at regulations.gov under docket number EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0643.
- For more information, or to RSVP for Advocacy’s Roundtable, email Dave Rostker at david.rostker@sba.gov.