Effort to phase out potent greenhouse gas will help protect Americans from climate change

(Washington, D.C. – September 16, 2014) Today’s announcement that the White House will work towards phasing out a particularly potent greenhouse gas called R-134a is a good step in the fight against climate change, according to Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).  

R-134a is a type of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC), one of the substances that traps heat in the atmosphere and contributes to climate change. It is used as a coolant in refrigerators and air conditioners. The White House today announced a series of steps toward reducing R-134a, including voluntary commitments from U.S. companies to move toward safer chemicals.

“This effort to move toward safer chemicals is a good step toward a healthier planet,” said Peter Zalzal, EDF’s Senior Attorney. “These chemicals are extremely potent greenhouse gases, and they can severely damage our climate. Switching to less harmful chemicals will help protect all Americans from the dangers of climate change.”   

HFCs can be up to 10,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide in causing climate change, although there is a vastly larger amount of carbon pollution in the atmosphere.

The White House today announced agreements with 22 of the country’s biggest companies to phase out the use of HFCs and switch to more climate-friendly coolants. Those commitments will reduce global consumption of HFCs by the equivalent of 700 million metric tons of carbon dioxide through 2025 – the same as taking almost 15 million cars off the road for 10 years. 

The Obama Administration will use today’s announcement to help build momentum for an international effort to phase out HFCs at next week’s United Nations Climate Summit. The Administration has already reached an agreement with China to work together to phase down the use of HFCs.

This is the latest step in the President’s Climate Action Plan, which also included Administration’s Clean Power Plan – which would put the first-ever national limits on carbon pollution from power plants – on June 2, 2014.