California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on July 21 that he is co-leading a coalition of 18 state attorneys general and two localities in filing a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), challenging its revision of the Technology Transitions Rule on HFC emissions announced in May.
The revision of the Technology Transitions Rule extends compliance deadlines by several years for the use of much lower GWP refrigerants – with a GWP of less than 150 or 300 – in supermarket systems, remote condensing units and cold storage warehouses, among other changes.
The Technology Transitions Rule, originally finalized in 2023, is one of three parts of the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, an HFC emissions-reduction bill enacted in 2020 with bipartisan and industry support. The others are the Emissions Reduction and Reclamation (ER&R) rule and the phasedown of HFC production and imports.
“The Trump administration is weakening critical environmental safeguards that combat the climate crisis, including restrictions on the super pollutant hydrofluorocarbons — one of the most powerful categories of greenhouse gases driving this crisis,” said Bonta. “We’re taking the Trump administration to court, yet again, for its effort to skirt the law with this final rule. As the Trump administration continues to bury its head in the sand at the expense of our environment, California will continue to confront the climate crisis head-on and hold the administration accountable for breaking the law.”
The EPA said it does not comment on pending litigation.
In filing the lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta acted alongside Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and Washington Attorney General Nick Brown. They were joined by the attorneys generals of Colorado, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, the District of Columbia and the City of New York. All of the states but Nevada are part of the U.S. Climate Alliance, a coalition of 23 states plus Guam taking action to address climate change.
The suit filed by the attorneys general follows similar actions against the EPA brought in June by the Air-Conditioning, Heating, the Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) and the Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy and other trade groups.
Compliance delays
Among the changes finalized by the revised Technology Transitions rule are the following:
- New supermarket equipment can use refrigerants with a maximum GWP of 1,400 beginning January 1, 2027, replacing the previous GWP limits scheduled for that date of 150 or 300 (which depend on charge size and equipment configuration). On January 1, 2032, the 150 or 300 GWP limits will take effect.
- New retail food remote condensing units can use refrigerants with a maximum GWP of 1,400 beginning 60 days after publication of the rule in the Federal Register (May 26), replacing the previous GWP limits of 150 or 300 that were scheduled to take effect January 1, 2026. On January 1, 2032, the 150 or 300 GWP limits will take effect.
- New equipment in cold-storage warehouses can use refrigerants with a maximum GWP of 700 beginning 60 days after publication of the rule in the Federal Register, replacing the previous GWP limits of 150 or 300 that were scheduled to take effect January 1, 2026. On January 1, 2032, the 150 or 300 GWP limits will take effect.
During the announcement of the final revision of the Technology Transitions Rule at the White House in May, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, alongside President Donald Trump, said the changes in the rule and a proposed change to the ER&R rule would together save American families and businesses more than $2.4 billion (€2.1 billion), adding, “This will be felt directly by American families in lower grocery prices.”
However, other Trump administration policies over the past year, including tariffs and the Iran war, are widely considered to have caused prices of groceries and gasoline to spike. The delay in the Technology Transitions rule, part of the Trump administration’s sweeping rollback of climate-related regulations, is not expected to moderate price inflation.
“This rule works against basic supply and demand,” said Stephen Yurek, AHRI President and CEO. “By extending the compliance deadline, the EPA is maintaining and even increasing demand in the market for existing refrigerants while supply continues to fall under the AIM Act. So, instead of falling, refrigerant prices are likely to rise, resulting in higher service costs and higher costs for consumers.”
FMI (the Food Industry Association), representing U.S. supermarkets, supports the compliance delays, arguing that the grocery industry needs additional time to transition its cooling systems to new technologies.
“The Trump administration is weakening critical environmental safeguards that combat the climate crisis, including restrictions on the super pollutant hydrofluorocarbons — one of the most powerful categories of greenhouse gases driving this crisis.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta
