HFC Measures
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. 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) 1383 (Lara, 2016) has provided new targets for three major categories of the most powerful climate pollutants, including HFCs. For the measures to succeed in these ambitious targets, a wide variety of strategies need to be employed in partnership with manufacturers of HFC products, the companies that purchase and use them, and the service providers who maintain them. Collaboration is key to the HFC measures' ongoing success.