United States. A U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cannot ban the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 in favor of the plaintiffs in the case of Mexichem Fluor Inc. v. EPA. In the decision, the court stated that the EPA cannot ban HFCs under Section 612 of the Clean Air Act because that provision was designed only to treat ozone-depleting substances.
While HFCs are one of the greenhouse gases suspected of contributing to climate change, they do not stop the ozone layer.
"EPA's authority to regulate ozone-depleting substances under Section 612 and other laws does not give EPA authority to mandate the replacement of substances that do not deplete the ozone layer but contribute to climate change." "Congress has not yet enacted comprehensive climate change legislation. While we understand and respect epa's global effort to fill that legislative vacuum and regulate HFCs, epa can act only as authorized by Congress."
The ruling struck down an executive order that was part of President Barack Obama's 2013 Climate Action Plan, which had indicated that epa would use its authority through the Section 612 Meaningful New Alternatives (SNAP) Policy Program to reduce HFC emissions. To that end, in 2015, the EPA issued a rule restricting manufacturers from making certain products that contain HFCs.
In this case, Mexichem Fluor and Arkema Inc. requested a review of the 2015 EPA rule. They put forward two main arguments. Second, epa's decision to remove HFCs from the list of safe substitutes in the 2015 rule was arbitrary and capricious because epa failed to adequately explain its decision and failed to consider several important aspects of the problem.
The court ruled in favor of the first argument, but rejected the arbitrary and capricious arguments.
The court noted that the EPA has other legal authorities, including the Toxic Substances Control Act, to directly regulate substances that do not deplete the ozone layer and are causing harm to the environment.
"Our decision today does not in any way affect those expansive EPA authorities," the court wrote.
"This decision has significant implications for our industry, and we will be monitoring the EPA's response," said Stephen Yurek, president and CEO of the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). "Despite the court's decision, our industry remains committed to ratifying and implementing the Kigali Amendment to globally eliminate the use of HFC refrigerants."
Source: AchrNews.
