OLYMPIA—Carbon dioxide gets a lot of attention as a greenhouse gas—but the gases commonly used for air conditioners, heat pumps, and supermarkets have two thousand to four thousand times more potential for global warming.
“My legislation will help recover, reclaim, and re-use these gases instead of venting them into our atmosphere.” said Rep. Davina Duerr (D-Bothell), author of House Bill 1462. “It’s a lot easier, and cheaper, to plan smart than clean up the mess afterward.”
Duerr’s legislation recently passed the House Environment and Energy Committee. The bill phases-in limits on the bulk purchasing of virgin hydrofluorocarbons for a six-year period by closing gaps in management of the refrigerant life cycle and encouraging the use of reclaimed gases.
“There is a federal ban coming which we are trying to prepare for by easing transition to reclaimed refrigerants,” Duerr said. “These reclaimed refrigerants extend the useful life of equipment currently using high global-warming potential hydrofluorocarbons, which come from China and will become more expensive with new federal tariffs.”
This bill grows the market for reclaimed gas and stabilizes prices so grocery stores and warehouses will have enough affordable reclaimed refrigerant to keep existing equipment operational for its full lifetime. Additionally, the legislation establishes a task force under the Department of Ecology to study the transition to alternative refrigerants.
HB 1462 is the latest step in a series of state and federal legislation that restricts these gases and adopts regulations to transition towards cleaner technologies.
The environmental and societal damages caused by greenhouse gas emissions have an unequal distribution, Duerr said.
“Working families, the tribes, and people of color tend to live in neighborhoods most affected by the harms of climate change: droughts, wildfires, flooding, and rising sea levels,” said Duerr. “We have to do our part to solve the problem. That means polluting less.”
To follow the progress of House Bill 1462, click here.
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