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ARTICLE · 26 SEPTEMBER 2022

U.S. Senate Approves Kigali Amendments Governing HFC Emissions

Beveridge & Diamond, P.C.
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On Wednesday, September 21, 2022, the U.S. Senate gave its advice and consent to the ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer...

United StatesEnvironment
Paul Hagen
Paul Hagen
K. Russell LaMotte
K. Russell LaMotte
Jackson Garrity
Jackson Garrity
Nicole J. Waxman
Nicole J. Waxman

On Wednesday, September 21, 2022, the U.S. Senate gave its advice and consent to the ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer by a bipartisan vote of 69-27. The Kigali Amendment requires parties to participate in a global "phase down" of the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). HFCs are potent greenhouse gases that are widely used in appliances such as air conditioners as an alternative to chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), which were largely phased out under the original Montreal Protocol and subsequent amendments.

Wednesday's Senate action will have little direct legal impact domestically because the United States has already implemented an HFC phase down program under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (the AIM Act) that mirrors the requirements of the Kigali Amendment. EPA currently has two proposed rules under the AIM Act that OMB is

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