CLIMATE LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNITY PROTECTION ACT (CLCPA)

In our focus on New York State laws, we are currently watching the Climate Action Council as it compiles the scoping plan to implement the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

In October 2020 we submitted a sign-on letter to the Climate Action Council to express our concern that none of the advisory panels was charged with comprehensively addressing HFCs. We specifically referenced the goal of reducing refrigerant emissions 40% from 2018 levels by 2030, in accordance with the United States Climate Alliance Short-Lived Climate Pollutants Road Map, which calls for action following the three pillars of refrigerant management:  transitioning to new refrigerants and doing it quickly with incentives; capturing refrigerants at end of life; and improving leak detection and sequestration practices.

DEC REGULATIONS

We submitted a letter in support of Part 494 to New York’s DEC. Part 494  phases out HFCs in specific applications and mandates the use of lower-GWP refrigerants. While this is a good step to take, our letter pointed out the great need to focus on capturing refrigerants at end of life and improving refrigerant monitoring standards.

We submitted a letter in support of Part 496 to New York’s DEC. The proposed Part 496 explains how the DEC calculated the greenhouse gas inventory to establish the baseline for implementing the CLCPA.  Our letter asked the DEC to consider including supplementary information on the remaining banks of CFCs and HCFCs and their potential greenhouse gas emissions (which we believe would be substantial) and also reiterated the need to focus on capturing refrigerants at end of life and improving refrigerant monitoring standards.

OUTREACH AND RESEARCH IN 2020

• Participated in March Webinar hosted by New Yorkers for Clean Energy

• Bard College Refrigerants Project–Helped with grant

• Published article about refrigerant management by Bard student Ella McGrail

• Composed and distributed press release about utility appliance recycling programs

• Composed article The ABCs HFCs and published in Nyack News and Views

• Phillipstown created a refrigerant management program for household appliances

• Investigated opportunities for collaboration among counties on Climate Smart Communities Grants

• Research and discussions with Hudson Technologies, ARCA, Masoud Ghandehari, “Mapping Refrigerant Gases in the New York City Skyline”

• Researched CAC and how to be involved in CLCPA