Many of you have read, or heard of, Drawdown, the bestselling book on science-based solutions to fight climate change.[1] It’s a surprise to many that the #1 most-effective solution cited in Drawdown is the proper management and eventual elimination of the common class of refrigerants known as HFCs. You can help this solution become a reality by helping to pass the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (AIM). Even with the limits of the coronavirus pandemic, you can still fight for our planet’s future by taking the time to write, call, or email your Representative and Senators to co-sponsor and strongly support the AIM act.
It is well-established that the global warming responsible for climate change is caused by the excess accumulation of greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. The most well-known one is carbon dioxide, generated by burning fossil fuels. However, HFC refrigerants are also significant, dangerous greenhouse gases — thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide[2] and able to linger in the atmosphere beyond a thousand years. To learn more about HFCs, follow this link to our position paper:
An Opportunity to Eliminate HFC Refrigerants
The AIM Act phases down the use of HFCs and regulates their use. Ninety-four UN member states have ratified a similar document, the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. Unfortunately, the current administration has so far refused to ratify the Kigali Amendment, so a legislative fix is necessary. The AIM Act is truly a bipartisan bill, with equal co-sponsorship of Republicans and Democrats of both the House (HR 5544) and Senate (S 2754) versions. However, this has no North Carolina co-sponsors in the House or Senate.
We urge you to contact your representatives and senators to support the AIM act. You can click on these links to download a call script and phone numbers and a sample letter template. Sample letters to individual representatives can be downloaded from the following links: Senator Richard Burr, Senator Thom Tillis, Representative George Holding (2nd District), and Representative David Price (4th District). If you don’t know who your representative is, you can find out by following this link.
[1] Drawdown: The most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming. New York, New York: Penguin Books.
[2] “Overview of Greenhouse Gases”, EPA.gov, U. S. Enivronmental Protection Agency, https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases
