The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) and Heating Air-Conditioning Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) have appealed a court decision in December rejecting their action to void updated New York State regulations on HFC emissions.
The December decision came from the New York State Supreme Court, County of Albany, in a case brought by AHRI and HARDI against the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). AHRI and HARDI on January 20 filed a notice of appeal with the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court, Third Judicial Department.
The trade groups filed their original suit in April 2025 seeking declaratory judgment and voidance of the amended 6 NYCRR Part 494 regulations, which impose restrictions on the HFC refrigerants used in air conditioners, heat pumps, refrigeration and water heaters.
The regulations include 20-year GWP limits of 10 for many new HVAC&R systems starting in 2034, thereby helping to foster the adoption of natural refrigerant-based applications. Beginning in 2026, new supermarket and cold-storage systems with refrigerant charge capacity of 50lbs (23kg) or greater are prohibited from using refrigerants with a GWP20 greater than 580. The rules also include prohibitions on bulk virgin refrigerants and containers and a variance process.
In their appeal, the AHRI and HARDI are requesting that the lower court’s decision be reversed, stating that New York State did not follow proper administrative procedure when enacting the restrictions in the amended Part 494 regulations. The trade groups continue to argue for full annulment of the regulations “due to concerns regarding enforcement, cost and the availability of compliant refrigerant,” they said in a statement announcing the appeal.
In the filing, AHRI and HARDI call for a review of whether the state took market factors into account, specifically referencing provisions that call for a ban of bulk regulated substances, a ban on regulated substances with a global warming potential greater than 10, or 20 in some cases, and the further regulation of residential HVAC equipment.
“AHRI opposes this ruling, which, if left in place, would greatly burden both consumers and manufacturers,” said AHRI President and CEO Stephen Yurek.
“Part 494 sets mandates the market cannot meet,” said HARDI CEO Talbot Gee.
Not arbitrary and capricious
In the December decision rejecting the trade groups’ original suit, Justice Richard J. McNally, Jr., found that “DEC’s adoption of amended Part 494 was not arbitrary and capricious, DEC complied with the State Administrative Procedure Act, and DEC did not act in excess of its jurisdiction.” In addition, McNally noted that amended Part 494 “includes a variance process which permits entities, including small businesses, to apply for temporary relief from certain requirements if the entity cannot comply.”
The NYSDEC did not respond to a request for a comment for this article, but it stated in 2024 that the updated HFC rules were designed to help implement New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), which requires the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 40% by 2030 and by 85% by 2050, achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Notably, the rules do not require the replacement of existing equipment prior to the end of its useful life – a major concern among food retailers who opposed the new regulations.
New York’s amended HFC regulations are among the most ambitious in the U.S., surpassing in some respects the U.S. AIM Act implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Technology Transitions Rule under the AIM Act is currently undergoing reconsideration by the EPA.
New York is part of the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of 24 governors that has recommitted itself to protecting the climate in the face of regulatory rollbacks by the EPA. Other states with proactive HFC regulations include California and Washington. New York, unlike the EPA or other states, uses a 20-year GWP (GWP20) value for gases rather than the traditional 100-year GWP (GWP100) value. (Some of the New York regulations refer to federal rules that use GWP100.)
New York regulators will be speaking about HFC regulations and related matters at the ATMOsphere America Summit 2026, scheduled for June 2–3 in the New York City area. ATMOsphere America is organized by ATMOsphere, publisher of NaturalRefrigerants.com.