Attorney General Ford Files Lawsuit Challenging Trump Administration Rule That Weakens Regulation of Highly Potent Greenhouse Gas

Carson City, NV - Today, Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced he has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), challenging its rule that would weaken regulations designed to phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in commercial equipment. HFCs are chemicals used for refrigeration and cooling that are up to 10,000 times more potent than the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide, and they are among the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions both in the United States and around the world. The rule rolls back some of the existing deadlines for industry to move from using HFCs as refrigerant gases to refrigerants with less greenhouse effect, known as Global Warming Potential (GWP). This undermines EPA's current regulations under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020 (AIM Act), which was signed into law by President Trump himself in 2020 and designed to phase out HFCs by approximately 85% by 2036. In the petition filed today in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Attorney General Ford, alongside a coalition of 18 other attorneys general and the City of New York, petitioned the court to review EPA's new rule because it is contrary to law and EPA fails to justify its change in position.

"Nevada is one of the hardest hit states by climate change, and we cannot simply ignore this issue," said Attorney General Ford. "Hydrofluorocarbons are one of the most potent greenhouse gas emitters, and to weaken regulations on their use would directly contribute to the ongoing climate crisis. The EPA must not be allowed to implement this new rule."

HFCs are widely used in commercial, residential and mobile cooling systems, such as air conditioning and refrigeration. Once deemed a safer alternative for the environment relative to ozone-depleting substances (chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs), which damage the earth's ozone layer, HFCs were later discovered to pose a major threat to the climate. With greenhouse effects (or GWPs) hundreds to thousands of times higher than carbon dioxide over a hundred-year period, HFCs have been projected to contribute up to 0.5 degrees Celsius (about 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit) to global surface warming by 2100 if they are not controlled. Because of this extreme potency; HFCs' increasing share of emissions; and their relatively short lifespan in the atmosphere, reducing consumption and production of HFCs is particularly important for addressing climate change.

In December 2020, President Trump signed the bipartisan AIM Act into law. The AIM Act provides a framework through which the United States will phase out the production and consumption of HFCs by about 85% by 2036. That law limits production and imports of HFCs in the U.S. to declining amounts of historic baseline levels - 60% today, declining to 30% in 2029, and 15% in 2036.

If allowed to move forward, the rule will increase HFC emissions, accelerating the damage already threatening our planet from climate change. In Nevada, the impacts from climate change are expected to include increased risk of drought; decreased flow in the Colorado River; and rising temperatures, among others. Nevada has the second-highest heat-related death rate in the country, and Reno is the nation's fastest-warming city. Further, by undermining the parallel reduction in HFC supply and demand, the rule threatens to cause shortages and price spikes in the HFC market that could be passed from retailers to consumers.

Joining Attorney General Ford in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as the City of New York.

A copy of the petition is attached.

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