HFC Phasedown (AIM Act)
Current understanding
Under the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act of 2020, EPA is phasing down production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and managing HFCs in existing equipment, including a 2024 final rule imposing leak repair, service, and reclamation requirements on refrigeration, air conditioning, and heat pump equipment using HFCs. In 2025, EPA proposed to exclude road and intermodal container transport refrigeration units (TRUs) from the leak repair requirements, characterizing the change as a clarification that these mobile TRUs were never intended to be covered by the 2024 rule. Practical effects include reduced compliance burden for trucking and container-shipping refrigeration operators; environmental groups may scrutinize the exclusion given HFC global warming potential.
Evidence log
- 2026-10-14 — Trichloroethylene (TCE); Regulation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA); Compliance Date Extensions: cross-connection with tce-tsca-regulation: HFC-134a refrigerant makers rely on TCE as a feedstock/processing aid; the proposed TCE compliance extension to Dec 31, 2027 is driven in part by the industry’s parallel transition timeline under the AIM Act HFC phasedown. (novelty: 2)
- 2025-11-18 — Climate Solutions Act of 2025: 2025 — Climate Solutions Act of 2025 (introduced) proposes an economy-wide net-zero-by-2050 GHG framework via EPA-set annual targets that would encompass HFCs alongside CO2, potentially complementing or overlapping the AIM Act phasedown; tangential to this page (broad economy-wide GHG mandate rather than HFC-specific phasedown mechanics). (novelty: 3)
- 2026-05-26 — Phasedown of Hydrofluorocarbons: Reconsideration of Certain Regulatory Requirements Promulgated Under the Technology Transitions Provisions of the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020: EPA finalized targeted reconsideration adjustments to Technology Transitions HFC use restrictions across multiple refrigeration and air conditioning subsectors, including allowing continued installation of pre-2025 residential and light commercial equipment inventory in response to industry petitions. (novelty: 2)