Senate Ratifies Amendment to Global Treaty Phasing-Down Super-pollutant HFCs
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate today ratified the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, the international treaty phasing down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) that received broad support, ranging from environmental organizations such as NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), to industry and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
David Doniger, senior strategic director in the Climate & Clean Energy program at NRDC, made the following comments:
“The Senate’s bipartisan vote today makes the United States a full partner in the global phasedown of the powerful climate pollutants called hydrofluorocarbons that are helping drive severe storms, floods, heat and wildfires across the U.S. and around the world. Pound for pound, HFCs pack hundreds to thousands of times the climate-warming punch of carbon dioxide, and their use has been steadily and dangerously rising.
“The measure approved today – ratification of the Kigali HFC Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, the treaty that saved the ozone layer – was supported by a broad environmental and business coalition running from NRDC to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. American companies are leading suppliers of climate-friendlier alternatives and the products that use them, and approval of the phasedown agreement opens doors for American exports and tens of thousands of American jobs.
“Ratification of the Kigali Amendment builds on the enactment in 2020 of the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act phasing down HFCs in the U.S. Coupled with the Inflation Reduction Act adopted last month, today’s vote gives us a fighting chance to avoid a global climate catastrophe.
“The Senate has backed a major step to curb dangerous climate change while promoting U.S. exports and jobs. Time to celebrate a key win in the fight against the climate crisis.”
A blog by David Doniger and Christina Theodoridi, an HFC expert at NRDC, is here: https://www.nrdc.org/experts/christina-theodoridi/us-joins-crucial-kigali-agreement-phasing-down-hfcs
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.