It's no secret that the earth is at risk right now. In the wake of California's rising forest fires, U.S. Senate Republicans have cocreated an amendment to an energy and manufacturing bill. With this bill, the country would move away from the use of hydrofluorocarbons, (HFCs) which is considered a potent greenhouse gas. It amends the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2019 to require companies to reduce the creation/consumption of HFCs until 2036.
According to Stephen Yurek, the President and also CEO of the Air Conditioning Heating and Refrigeration Institute, "This amendment brings us one step closer to implementing an HFC phase-down and reaping the substantial economic benefits associated with this transition to new refrigerant technologies." The greenhouse gas is considered a powerful and damaging force in the climate crisis.
Though the Republican party has been famously non-confrontational when it comes to climate matters, this seems like it has a real chance at passing in a Republican-run Senate. John Barrasso, a GOP author, wants to get it in front of the President before Congress adjourns in January.
"This amendment would spur billions of dollars of economic growth in domestic manufacturing and create tens of thousands of new jobs, all while helping our planet avoid half a degree Celsius in global warming," said Senator Tom Carper.