The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) has created a free refrigerant transition hub to help retailers navigate regulation changes implemented by the American Innovation and Manufacuring (AIM) Act.
Enacted in 2020, the AIM Act authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to phase down hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant greenhouse gas emissions by 85 per cent by 2036.
“HFC regulations from the AIM Act and several states are pressuring retailers to transition to climate-friendly refrigerants,” according to Danielle Wright, executive director of NASRC.
“Retailers need neutral information to help them make the right decisions. NASRC works in partnership with the supermarket industry, so we are uniquely positioned to identify the gaps in available resources.”
The federal phasedown of HFCs is expected to result in refrigerant shortages and significant price increases.
In Europe, refrigerant prices increased by 900 per cent following a similar HFC phasedown. Also, new legislation introduced in states such as California proposed to ban the sale and distribution of virgin HFC refrigerants as early as 2025, further driving the need for natural refrigerant solutions.
The hub features a HFC policy tracker which is an interactive map to aid retailers navigating the complex systems of regulations by tracking the latest policies at the federal and state levels.
There is also a Natural Refrigerants in Supermarakets Factsheet which provides an overview of eco-friendly solutions.
This is in addition to a comprehensive collection of presentations on the latest natural refrigerant technologies.
Phasing down HFCs in favour of environmentally safer alternatives and more energy-efficient cooling technologies is expected to save billions of dollars.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the US estimates that the present value of the cumulative benefits of this action is $283.9 billion from 2022 through 2050, and that the phase down will yield cumulative compliance savings for industry. I
In 2036 alone, the year the final reduction step is made, this rule is expected to prevent the equivalent of 187 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions – roughly equal to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from one out of every seven vehicles registered in the United States.