A coalition of more than 20 national and state conservative groups is urging President Donald Trump to “reject” an international agreement to phase down the use of refrigerants that act as potent greenhouse gases, even though the deal enjoys widespread support from industry, Republican senators and other conservative groups.

A July 2 letter from the free market Competitive Enterprise Institute think tank and several of its allies charges that the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol would lead to “higher costs for households, motorists and businesses that rely on air conditioning and refrigeration.”

The Kigali deal sets a global phase down schedule for hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which were initially promoted as replacements for chemicals that harm the ozone layer, though they act as potent short-term GHGs.

The letter — which is joined by several groups that dismiss mainstream climate science — argues that the deal would lead to “minute” reductions in global temperature but come at a “very high cost.”

Supporters of the deal have said HFC cuts achieved by the agreement would prevent up to 0.5 degrees of global average temperature increase — a significant amount given the oft-cited goal to limit increases to 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

The recent letter comes after a wide range of refrigeration and air conditioning groups sent Trump a June 13 letter urging him to send Kigali to the Senate for ratification, arguing it would boost domestic manufacturing jobs and the sector’s trade balance.

A group of 13 Republican senators also have urged Trump to embrace the Kigali deal.

Further, the deal recently earned the support of three other conservative groups: Americans for Tax Reform, FreedomWorks and the American Council for Capital Formation.

*Original article online at https://insideepa.com/daily-feed/conservative-groups-urge-trump-reject-hfc-treaty

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