Sacramento, CA – This week California’s legislature approved a 2019-2020 budget providing $1 million to create an incentive program for reducing emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases, including hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Established by the California Cooling Act (SB1013) passed last year, the program will incentivize adoption of climate-friendly refrigerant technologies, with a mandate to also consider other co-benefits such as energy efficiency and opportunities for increasing recovery, reclamation, and destruction of refrigerants at end-of-life.
In response, EIA issues the following statement:
“We applaud California for following through on the California Cooling Act,” said Christina Starr, EIA Climate Policy Analyst. “This is an opportunity to launch a transformative program that can accelerate adoption of the most climate-friendly cooling technologies available. It can also help increase energy efficiency, and encourage better management and disposal of HFCs. If implemented at scale, it promises to have a big impact.”
“This is yet another fine example of California’s leadership and commitment to tackling HFCs in cooling,” said Avipsa Mahapatra, Climate Campaign Lead at EIA. “We hope other states committed to phasing down super-pollutant HFCs will see this innovative program as an example for raising the bar on sub-national climate action in the U.S.”
The program will be overseen by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) with incentives to be made available to users of cooling systems, which may include supermarkets, other retailers, food and beverage manufacturing and distribution companies, among others. With the budget passed by the legislature, it will now go to Governor Newsom’s desk for signature in the coming weeks.
Contact: Lindsay Moran - lmoran@eia-global.org