California is committed to phasing down the use of HFCs, and its timeline to do so is rather aggressive. That’s because the state legislature recently passed the California Cooling Act (Senate Bill 1013), which requires the state to reduce HFC emissions by 40 percent below 2013 levels by 2030.
To meet this mandate, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has proposed a GWP limit of 150 for new stationary refrigeration systems containing more than 50 pounds of refrigerant, as well as a ban on sales of virgin refrigerants with a GWP above 1,500, starting on January 1, 2022. In addition, CARB is proposing a GWP limit of 750 for all new stationary air conditioning systems (residential and commercial) starting January 1, 2023, and the same GWP limit for new chillers, effective January 1, 2024.