ASHRAE Journal - March 2021 - 79

Left: AHRI
promotes passage
of the AIM Act
on Capitol Hill.
Right: AHRI Vice
President of
Regulatory Affairs
Helen WalterTerrinoni leads the
Safe Refrigerant
Transition Task
Force.

Legislative Success
The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI)
continues to demonstrate its commitment to ensuring a safe
transition to low-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants. In
December 2020, the AHRI-supported American Innovation and
Manufacturing Act (AIM Act), that gives the Environmental Protection
Agency express authority to phase down hydroﬂuorocarbon (HFC)
production and consumption, was signed into law as part of an
omnibus/COVID-19 relief package.
Passage of the AIM Act was a major legislative win for the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) industry,
and the most signiﬁcant climate legislation in over a decade. While
HFCs were developed as alternatives to substances that deplete the
stratospheric ozone layer, they are potent, high-GWP greenhouse
gases that contribute to climate change. The AIM Act authorizes the
EPA to regulate a group of about 20 HFCs, which are widely used as
refrigerants, solvents, ﬁre suppressants, foam blowing agents, aerosols, propellants, and in other applications. The bill regulates HFCs
in three ways:

It gradually phases down the production and consumption
of HFCs over a 15- year period via an allowance allocation
program.

It authorizes the EPA to establish standards for the management of HFCs used as refrigerants, such as in equipment servicing and repair, and for the recovery of " used " HFCs for puriﬁcation
and resale, known as reclaim.

It authorizes the EPA to establish sector-based use restrictions, to facilitate transitions to next-generation refrigerant
technologies.

It is important to note that the AIM Act does not prohibit the use of
HFCs in existing refrigeration and air conditioning equipment.

Critical
Partnerships
AHRI Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Helen
Walter-Terrinoni leads the AHRI Safe Refrigerant Transition Task Force (SRTTF), established
in 2019 to support supply chain readiness for
the transition to low-GWP refrigerants. The
Task Force comprises more than 200 members
and stakeholders from over 75 organizations
including contractors, government agencies,
the ﬁre service, unions, training organizations,
environmental groups, and other entities.
To date, the SRTTF has led several in-person
and online educational sessions on regulation
compliance, safety standards and codes, and
refrigerant research, all of which are of critical
importance to stakeholders. The popular AHRI
Regrigerant Webinar Series is set to occur
monthy this year.
" The Task Force seeks to provide the latest
and most accurate information available on
low-GWP refrigerants to all stakeholders, " said
Walter-Terrinoni. " We pride ourselves on connecting the experts behind the research with
our stakeholders to ensure a safe refrigerant
transition, " she continued..
More about AHRI's efforts regarding the
safe refrigerant transition, including volunteer
opportunities, resources and factsheets, presentations and webinars, and relevant articles,
is available at http://ahrinet.org/saferefrigerant.

http://www.ahrinet.org/saferefrigerant

ASHRAE Journal - March 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - March 2021