NRDC Asks Court to Rehear Critical Case on HFCs

NRDC asked the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to rehear and reverse a divided panel’s August decision blocking the Environmental Protection Agency from curbing emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)—powerful greenhouse gases with thousands of times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide.

A divided three-judge panel of the court eviscerated the critical “Safe Alternatives” program that Congress adopted in the 1990 Clean Air Act to ensure the health and environmental safety of chemicals that replace chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other ozone-depleting chemicals in air conditioning, refrigeration, and many other applications.

The rehearing petition shows how the panel decision, if allowed to stand, will let HFCs keep fueling dangerous climate change, increasing risks for the millions of Americans who are living through hurricanes and other extreme weather events, and experiencing many other climate impacts. The decision will also undercut international cooperation to curb the explosive growth of HFCs world-wide through the landmark Kigali HFC Amendment adopted in October 2016.