Attorney General Rayfield Sues Trump Administration for Delaying Potent Greenhouse Gas Phase-Out

In the 18 months since Donald Trump took office, his administration has attempted to pull back or cancel critically important environmental protections, putting all of our communities at risk. Today, Attorney General Dan Rayfield and a coalition of 18 other attorneys general and the City of New York sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over a new rule that delays the phase-out a group of powerful greenhouse gases in refrigeration and air conditioning equipment.

"Oregonians are already living with hotter summers and more wildfire smoke, and the federal administration's actions will make this crisis even worse," said Attorney General Rayfield. "The science is clear - these chemicals are heating up our planet and poisoning our communities. We must take action now."

The gases, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), can trap thousands of times more heat than carbon dioxide and are one of the fastest-growing sources of climate pollution in the world.

HFCs are commonly used to keep things cold - in home air conditioners, supermarket refrigerators, and cooling systems in cars and trucks. Unfortunately, HFCs are also extraordinarily effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Because of that potency, cutting back on HFCs is one of the fastest ways to slow the pace of climate change.

In 2020, Congress passed a bipartisan law, the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, that set a schedule for phasing out HFCs by about 85% by 2036. To help industries meet that deadline, the EPA required that new cooling equipment installed starting in 2026 use gases with a much smaller climate impact. The Trump Administration is trying to push back that deadline by six years; that would mean six more years of pumping these potent greenhouse gases into the environment.

The coalition argues that the EPA's rule is unlawful because the agency failed to adequately explain why it reversed course, and that delaying the transition will not only add more climate pollution to the atmosphere but could also disrupt the supply of these refrigerants, driving up costs that get passed on to consumers. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, asks the court to strike down the rule.

Along with Attorney General Rayfield, the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, the District of Columbia, and the City of New York signed on to this lawsuit.