Since 2006, with the passage of California’s landmark legislation, the Global Warming Solutions Act, CARB has had the responsibility of reducing California’s emissions of greenhouse gases from the many different types of sources, from motor vehicles to agriculture to refrigerants. In 2016, Senate Bill (SB) 1383 (Lara) provided new targets for three major categories of the most powerful climate pollutants, including HFCs. Because hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are hundreds to thousands of times more potent climate change pollutants than carbon dioxide, and do their damage relatively quickly – CARB has undertaken a number of measures that focus on reducing HFC greenhouse gas emissions.
Most recently, Senate Bill (SB) 1206 (Skinner, 2022) prohibits the sale of bulk virgin HFCs while allowing the sale of reclaimed HFCs. SB 1206 will mitigate emissions from existing sources that use HFCs, ultimately aiding California in meeting HFC emission reduction goals.