Trump administration rolls back refrigerant rule

President Donald Trump and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin on May 21 announced a rollback of parts of two Biden-era refrigerant rules, saying the changes would reduce costs for grocers, transport operators and air-conditioning businesses. The actions target hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, chemicals used in refrigeration and cooling systems that the EPA regulates under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act. (epa.gov) EPA said one action is a final revision to its 2023 Technology Transitions rule, while the other is a proposed change to a 2024 leak-repair rule. The administration framed the move as a cost-cutting measure. EPA said the two actions together are estimated to save families and businesses more than $2.4 billion, and the White House said the changes would lower the cost of transporting and storing refrigerated goods. (epa.gov) AP reported that the rollback affects grocery stores and air-conditioning companies that had faced tighter deadlines and equipment requirements under the earlier rules. ### Which refrigerant rules did the administration change? The EPA said the final action revises the 2023 Technology Transitions rule, which set sector-by-sector limits on the use of higher-global-warming-potential HFCs in equipment such as supermarket systems, remote condensing units, cold storage warehouses and residential and light commercial air-conditioning and heat-pump systems. (epa.gov) The agency said the rulemaking responds to petitions for reconsideration and requests from companies and trade associations. A separate EPA action, released the same day, proposes excluding road and intermodal-container transport refrigeration units from HFC leak-repair requirements in the 2024 Emissions Reduction and Reclamation rule. EPA said the Biden administration had included that sector in error and that the agency will reconsider the rest of the 2024 rule later. (epa.gov) ### What changed for supermarkets and cooling equipment? EPA’s technical summary says one of the most consequential revisions delays tighter refrigerant limits for remote condensing units until January 1, 2032. Under the reconsideration, those systems can use refrigerants with a global warming potential of up to 1,400 starting January 1, 2026, before shifting later to the lower 150 or 300 thresholds, depending on the equipment. (epa.gov) The same EPA summary says supermarket systems also get more time. The agency adjusted the supermarket-system threshold to 1,400 beginning January 1, 2026, with the lower limit pushed to January 1, 2032. EPA also said the final rule expands installation flexibility for previously manufactured or imported residential and light commercial air-conditioning and heat-pump equipment. (epa.gov) ### Why did the administration say it acted? Lee Zeldin said the Biden-era rules “piled on costly, unattainable restrictions beyond what the law requires.” He said the revised rules let businesses choose refrigeration systems that work best for them and that the savings would be reflected in lower grocery prices. (downloads.regulations.gov) The White House said the changes would save more than $900 million under the Technology Transitions rule, including more than $800 million at supermarkets, and up to $1.5 billion from the proposed transport-refrigeration change. Those figures came from the administration’s own estimates. (downloads.regulations.gov) ### What law still governs these chemicals? The American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020 remains the underlying federal law. EPA said it is still required to meet its statutory obligations under that law unless Congress changes it, even as it revises deadlines and requirements within the program. EPA’s HFC program page says the agency’s Technology Transitions program is designed to restrict the use of climate-damaging HFCs in specific sectors, including refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps. (epa.gov) The reconsideration changes the timing and scope of some restrictions rather than ending the program. ### What happens next, and where will the details appear? (whitehouse.gov) EPA said the final Technology Transitions reconsideration rule was signed by Zeldin on May 21 and is being submitted for publication in the Federal Register under docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0005. The agency said the official text will appear on GovInfo and Regulations.gov. The proposed transport-refrigeration exemption is also posted on EPA’s HFC management page with a fact sheet dated May 21, 2026. (epa.gov) That proposal will go through the federal rulemaking process before it can take effect. (epa.gov 1) (epa.gov 2) (epa.gov 3)