To address climate change, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a list of alternatives to hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)—gases that are used in refrigeration, air-conditioning, fire-suppression and ventilation systems for commercial and other types of buildings as well as in cars, aircraft and machinery.
According to the EPA, HFCs are up to 10,000 times more potent that carbon dioxide in contributing to climate change. The agency says phasing down HFCs will help to achieve substantial reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions and could avoid up to 0.5ºC of warming by 2100.