US EPA condemned for “reckless” act

USA: HVACR equipment manufacturers and environmental groups have both condemned today’s announcement by the US EPA to roll-back refrigerant transition deadlines on supermarket refrigeration equipment.

Alongside President Trump and surrounded by executives from a number of leading grocery chains, US Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin today announced two actions to roll back deadlines under the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act.

The revision will roll back the maximum 150 GWP limit for refrigerant in retail refrigeration equipment, which was due to be introduced on January 1 2027, to 2032. The EPA is also proposing to exempt all road refrigerant transport appliances from the HFC leak repair requirements established in the 2024 Emissions Reduction and Reclamation rule.

Zeldin claimed that the two actions would save American families and businesses more than $2.4bn. The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) said that the announcement “went against basic supply and demand”, while the Environmental Investigation Agency described it as a “reckless step backward”. 

The AHRI and the Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy said that the change increases the risk of higher prices by increasing the demand for existing refrigerants while reducing their supply, impacting refrigerant costs for supermarkets, commercial buildings, and residential dwellings. 

“This rule works against basic supply and demand,” said Stephen Yurek, AHRI president and CEO. “By extending the compliance deadline, the EPA is maintaining and even increasing demand in the market for existing refrigerants while supply continues to fall under the AIM Act. So, instead of falling, refrigerant prices are likely to rise, resulting in higher service costs, and higher costs for consumers.” 

The groups also emphasised that the requirements did not apply to existing equipment. Supermarkets and other businesses could already keep using and servicing equipment they own. The requirements applied only to new equipment manufactured or imported after the transition dates.

“This was never a rule forcing stores to replace existing equipment,” Yurek said. “It was a rule for new equipment. The EPA has no analysis showing that delaying these dates will lower costs for consumers.”

AHRI and the Alliance said the final rule also harms U.S. manufacturers that invested to meet the existing dates. Over the past several years, manufacturers redesigned products, retooled factories, certified new equipment, expanded domestic production, and trained workers to build and service next generation refrigerant equipment.

“American manufacturers did what Congress and the first Trump administration asked them to do,” said John Hurst, executive director of the Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy. “They invested in new equipment, new refrigerants, new production lines, and American workers. The administration has now changed course in a way that weakens those investments.”

AHRI and the Alliance also rejected claims that the market is not ready. They insist that next generation refrigerants are widely available and approved for use today. 

Avipsa Mahapatra, climate campaign director at the Environmental Investigation Agency US, said: “Today’s decision is a reckless step backward for climate action, public health and economic certainty. 

“The science on HFCs is settled, the alternatives exist and much of industry has spent years preparing for this transition. Rolling back timelines now creates needless uncertainty for businesses that have already invested billions in innovation, manufacturing and workforce training,” she added.

While the announcement does not affect other parts of the AIM Act, Mahapatra insists that it sends a “mixed message” to industry that HFC refrigerants will be phased out in the United States without a consistent regulatory position on the fate of refrigeration equipment relying on HFCs. 

“This disjointed approach will dampen US innovation in energy efficient refrigeration technology and potentially defer that innovation to foreign competitors, increase GHG emissions from legacy equipment, and increase the likelihood of illegal HFC imports flowing into the country.” 

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