Earth Equity News

North America Seeks Agreement on Hydroflourocarbons. By Timothy Gardner, Reuters, May 6, 2010. "The United States, Canada, and Mexico have proposed to amend a landmark global pact protecting the ozone layer to fight emissions of a refrigerant chemical thousands of times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, the U.S. EPA said on May 6. The proposal would expand the Montreal Protocol to phase down emissions of hydroflourocarbons, also known as HFCs, which are up to 14,000 times more damaging to the planet's climate system than carbon dioxide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said. 'Reducing HFCs would help slow climate change and curb potential public health impacts,' the EPA said in a release. The EPA estimated that reductions in the proposal would be equivalent to removing greenhouse gas emissions from 59 million passenger cars each year through 2020 and 420 million cars each year through 2050. The proposal would have to be approved and ratified by the Montreal Protocol members. Those that ratify the pact would be required to reduce emissions."