Feds sued over extending deadline to limit ‘super polluter’ gases used in refrigerators

The EPA rolled back deadlines for businesses like supermarkets to begin using less-polluting equipment until 2032, allowing the further use of a greenhouse gas up to 10,000 times works than carbon dioxide.WASHINGTON (CN) — A coalition of 18 state attorneys general sued the Trump administration Tuesday, challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to weaken regulations meant to phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbons, powerful greenhouse gases commonly used in refrigerators and air conditioners.Led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, the coalition filed the suit in the D.C. Circuit and argues the EPA’s May 26 final rule reverses a Biden-era effort to decrease the use of gas by 40% by 2028.Hydrofluorocarbons — or HFCs — are powerful greenhouse gases that, while only representing 1% of total greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, have an impact up to 10,000 times greater than carbon dioxide per pound.The decision rolls back deadlines set by the EPA under former President Joe Biden, which announced a new rule in July 2023that aimed to achieve a goal to cut the production and use of the gas by 85% by 2036, equivalent to 70 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide. That goal was set out in the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act in 2020.On May 21, President Donald Trump announced the rollback as an end to “ridiculous” regulations that he claimed drove up “the price of food and other items Americans buy every day” by increasing the price of transporting and storing refrigerated goods.In the EPA’s final rule, the agency specifically extended the compliance deadline for chillers used in the manufacture of semiconductors from Jan. 1, 2028, to Jan. 1, 2030. The agency also extended deadlines for retail food industries like supermarkets to Jan. 1, 2032.“Across the country, communities are enduring record-breaking temperatures, devastating floods and raging wildfires,” Bonta said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “They are clear warnings that our planet is approaching a dangerous climate tipping point. Yet, the Trump administration is weakening critical environmental safeguards that combat the climate crisis, including restrictions on the super pollutant hydrofluorocarbons — one of the most powerful categories of greenhouse gases driving this crisis.”Bonta is joined by attorneys general from Massachusetts, Washington state, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, Washington, D.C., and New York City.Congress passed the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act in December 2020, which Trump signed into law in the waning weeks of his first term in office. The law created a framework for certain industries that rely on refrigeration, such as supermarkets, bakeries and convenience stores, to use equipment with refrigerant gases that emit lower amounts of greenhouse gases.The regulation specifically required such businesses to use equipment with a “Global Warming Potential” — a measure of how much heat a greenhouse gas traps in the atmosphere compared to the baseline carbon dioxide, which has a “GWP” of one — between 150 and 300.Under the new EPA rules, that limit is raised to 1,400 GWP until Jan. 1, 2032.In its final rule, the agency explained its reasoning by citing comments by manufacturers, importers and distributors of residential and light commercial air conditioning and heat pump equipment that the 2023 rule would result in “substantial stranded inventory” for “residential new construction, including both single-family and multi-family dwellings.”The deregulation bid began with Trump’s Jan. 31, 2025, executive order “Unleashing Prosperity through Deregulation” and the EPA’s effort to “lower the cost of living for American families.”EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said at the White House on May 21 that the deregulation would provide $800 million in savings for supermarkets, which would then be passed on to consumers.Bonta argues the new rule would significantly increase hydrofluorocarbon emissions and accelerate the climate crisis, highlighting the fact California has experienced nine of its 10 warmest years on record after 2014.“We’re taking the Trump administration to court, yet again, for its effort to skirt the law with this final rule,” Bonta said. “As the Trump administration continues to bury its head in the sand at the expense of our environment, California will continue to confront the climate crisis head-on and hold the administration accountable for breaking the law.”The EPA declined to comment on the pending litigation.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads