A Defense Production Act Memo: Why America Must Act on Refrigerants
How urgent federal action on refrigerants can protect climate progress, energy security, and American industries.
Why Refrigerants Demand Urgent Action: A National Memo
The United States stands at a critical crossroads in its battle against climate change, and one surprising front in this fight is the chemicals used to cool our buildings and keep our food safe. Refrigerants—the compounds in air conditioners, refrigerators, heat pumps, and grocery display cases—are a small but powerful piece of America’s decarbonization story. Yet, as recent policy and market signals show, the country faces a looming crisis: a shortfall of next-generation, climate-friendly refrigerants is threatening energy security, economic stability, and climate progress.
To respond, many experts now advocate invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA) to accelerate domestic manufacturing, build strategic supply chains, and avoid significant disruptions across essential sectors.
The Refrigerant Revolution: From Ozone Holes to Climate Smart Solutions
Refrigerants have undergone several revolutions in the past century. Originally, they were made from CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), infamous for their role in thinning the ozone layer. Thanks to the Montreal Protocol—the world’s most successful environmental treaty—these CFCs were replaced globally by HCFCs and then HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons). While this helped the ozone recover, HFCs turned out to be potent greenhouse gases, trapping thousands of times more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide. Today, their rapid growth threatens to undermine global climate targets.
Recognizing this, the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol set a schedule for all nations to phase down HFCs and transition to climate-friendlier alternatives. The U.S. has committed to this through the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, which requires a steep reduction in HFC use across all sectors over the next decade.
- CFCs: Destroyed ozone layer; now banned globally.
- HCFCs: Less damaging but still phased out due to environmental harm.
- HFCs: Don’t harm ozone, but major global warming threat.
- Alternatives: Lower global warming potential (GWP) substances like hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs), natural refrigerants (CO2, ammonia, propane).
Why Supply is at the Breaking Point: Analyzing the Refrigerant Crisis
The U.S. refrigerant supply chain is under significant strain. Several factors are converging to create a perfect storm:
- Steep Regulatory Deadlines: The AIM Act mandates deep and fast HFC reductions, but the domestic manufacturing base for climate-friendly alternatives is not ready to meet demand.
- Global Competition: Other countries, notably China and the European Union, have been investing in next-generation refrigerant production and could outpace U.S. industries, raising national security concerns.
- Industrial Inertia: Many American factories were built to make or use HFCs, and switching technology or chemistry is capital-intensive and slow.
- Supply Chain Bottlenecks: Raw materials and critical precursors for the safest refrigerant alternatives are in short supply or trapped in global trade disputes.
The result: Unless the U.S. mobilizes rapidly, it will either face widespread shortages of climate-safe refrigerants (undermining AC, food cooling, even health care) or risk illegal smuggling and the use of banned high-GWP substances, undercutting both business stability and the climate.
The Defense Production Act: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?
The Defense Production Act (DPA) is a powerful federal law, first enacted in 1950. It gives the President broad authority to accelerate and expand the supply of critical materials and goods needed for national defense—a term that policymakers have increasingly interpreted to include both military and national resilience against emerging threats, like pandemics or climate disruptions.
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By invoking the DPA, the federal government can:
- Direct companies to prioritize government contracts and ramp up essential production.
- Provide funding and technical assistance to rapidly expand manufacturing capacity.
- Coordinate procurement and distribution to prevent shortages and price spikes.
- Support workforce training and the build-out of secure supply chains.
Recently, the DPA has been used to respond to PPE shortages during COVID-19, energy grid emergencies, and, more recently, to support clean energy technologies like heat pumps and grid transformers.
Why the Refrigerant Crisis Meets the DPA Standard for Action
Several urgent criteria justify using the DPA for refrigerants:
- Climate Progress at Risk: Failing to supply new refrigerants undermines federal laws, global commitments, and puts the nation’s own climate goals in jeopardy.
- Industrial Security: If U.S. manufacturers fall behind in next-generation refrigerant markets, the country risks permanent economic disadvantage and dependence on foreign supply chains.
- Resilience of Critical Sectors: Health care, food systems, and public safety all depend on reliable heating and cooling. Any disruption could have cascading effects.
- Strategic Competition: With other nations racing ahead, ensuring domestic refrigerant supply is a matter of national resilience and long-term security.
Table: Key Sectors Dependent on Refrigerants
| Sector | Why Refrigerants Are Critical |
|---|---|
| Buildings (Residential & Commercial) | Air conditioning, heat pumps, ventilation |
| Food & Grocery | Cold storage, transport, supermarket refrigeration |
| Health Care | Preservation of vaccines, medicines, blood banks |
| Manufacturing | Temperature control of sensitive processes |
Barriers to Scaling New Refrigerant Solutions
Several technical and economic factors make the refrigerant transition uniquely challenging:
- Long Product Lifetimes: Air conditioners and refrigerators typically last 10–20 years. Thus, older units may continue leaking high-GWP refrigerants for years unless policies drive faster changeover and retrofit.
- Chemistry Complexity: New low-GWP refrigerants often require entirely new manufacturing lines, worker retraining, and sometimes redesigning the equipment itself (due to flammability or toxicity risks).
- Workforce Gaps: Many technicians lack certification or experience to safely handle the next generation of refrigerants and technologies.
- Market Uncertainty: Any policy delays or regulatory ambiguity can push companies to postpone investments, risking an even steeper supply crunch when deadlines arrive.
How DPA Mobilization Can Break the Logjam
Activating the DPA for refrigerants would send a powerful, market-moving signal. Key strategic actions include:
- Direct government investment in expanding domestic production of HFOs and natural refrigerants, especially for sectors that face the fastest phaseout deadlines.
- Incentivizing rapid retooling and upgrades in manufacturing plants so they can switch away from high-GWP HFCs, reducing down time or layoffs.
- Supporting research and education to ensure a robust workforce—training tens of thousands of technicians in safe handling, installation, and repair of new refrigerant systems.
- Coordinating government purchasing power to smooth the supply chain, avoid price spikes, and ensure hospitals, food systems, and other public services don’t face critical shortages.
- Reducing the risk of black-market imports and illegal refrigerant smuggling, which undercuts environmental law and business legitimacy.
Risks of Inaction: The High Cost of Delay
Failing to mobilize now could bring damaging consequences across the U.S. economy and society:
- Cascading shortages that drive up the price of cooling, threaten national food supplies, and put vulnerable populations (the elderly, infants, the sick) at risk during heatwaves.
- Loss of climate gains—with black-market HFCs leaking back into supply chains and undercutting years of effort to lower emissions.
- Economic hit to American manufacturers and exporters who miss out on the booming global market for next-gen refrigerants and green HVAC technologies.
- National security risks as America becomes reliant on foreign sources for strategic chemicals.
Broader Climate Implications: Cooling, Equity, and the Clean Energy Transition
Refrigerant policy is also a social justice and climate equity issue. As the world warms, billions of people will depend on affordable air conditioning and refrigeration to survive heatwaves and keep food and medicine safe. Mobilizing U.S. industrial might can help ensure cooling is:
- Affordable for low-income and vulnerable populations.
- Efficient, reducing wasted electricity and cutting utility bills.
- Safe—avoiding leaks of toxic or flammable chemicals by investing in workforce training and best practices.
- Low-carbon—aligning refrigerant manufacturing with a renewable grid and clean industrial standards.
What Policymakers, Industry, and Citizens Can Do Now
- Urge Congress and the White House to add next-generation refrigerants to the DPA priority list.
- Support investment in research and domestic manufacturing for climate-safe refrigerant technologies.
- Advocate for strong workforce programs for HVAC and refrigeration technicians.
- Promote recycling, responsible disposal, and leakage control for existing refrigerants.
- Choose products and services that use low-GWP refrigerants and support American green manufacturing.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Refrigerants and the DPA
Q: What is the most urgent refrigerant problem facing the U.S.?
A: The most critical issue is the rapid phaseout of climate-polluting HFCs, which is outpacing the country’s current manufacturing and supply of safe alternatives, threatening availability for essential cooling.
Q: How would the Defense Production Act make a difference?
A: The DPA allows the federal government to prioritize, fund, and coordinate the manufacturing of crucial goods—helping scale up next-gen refrigerants quickly and avert shortages or black-market activity.
Q: Will new refrigerants be as effective as old ones?
A: Yes, most next-generation low-GWP refrigerants perform as well or better than HFCs in cooling technology, though some require equipment redesigns or specialized training for safe use.
Q: Who stands to benefit from a U.S. refrigerant policy mobilization?
A: All Americans benefit: manufacturers, the workforce, public services like healthcare and food safety, and everyone affected by extreme heat or rising utility bills.
Q: Can individuals help?
A: Yes! By supporting policy action, choosing products with climate-friendly refrigerants, ensuring regular maintenance to prevent leaks, and advocating for responsible recycling, individuals can play a part in the transition.
References
- https://www.fedcenter.gov/news/regs/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9496270/
- https://ecocidelaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/txe_48-2_Full-issue.pdf
- https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eenews/2023/12/22/tree-hugging-dam-fighting-green-legend-dies-at-80-00133087
- https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1139&context=sdlp
- https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eenews/2023/11/09/sierra-clubs-boss-is-at-war-with-his-staff-he-blames-them-00125783
- https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/iron-sulfate-slow-global-warming.htm
- https://search.asu.edu/profile/2757130/cv
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