EPA Lists New SNAP Substitutes, EIA Hopes for Lower GWP

WASHINGTON, DC – Today the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a determination of acceptability that expands the list of acceptable substitutes under its Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program. This action compares flammability, toxicity, and Global Warming Potential (GWP) of refrigerants to others in use for particular sectors and lists them as “acceptable” substitutes for ozone depleting substances and other fluorinated gases which are hundreds and thousands of times more damaging to the climate than CO2.

“The proposal sends a positive signal that the SNAP program is actively receiving and reviewing listings in an effort to move to the most environmentally friendly refrigerants, especially since the Kigali Amendment of the Montreal Protocol was agreed to last year by all 197 Parties to phase-down HFCs globally.” said Avipsa Mahapatra, EIA Climate Campaign Lead.

“However, several of the refrigerants listed as acceptable in this notice have high-GWPs such as R-452C (GWP 2,220) and R-442A (GWP 1,890) and will not be the most sustainable choices in a world that is increasingly moving as close to a 0 GWP as possible," Mahapatra continued. "Smart companies around the world are already using much lower GWP refrigerants for these very end uses. EIA encourages the EPA to list lower GWP refrigerants as acceptable throughout all sectors and end-uses.”

Contact:
Maggie Dewane, EIA Press Officer, mdewane@eia-global.org, (202) 483-6621