Trump administration moves to loosen restrictions it once supported on a harmful pollutant
The Trump administration is loosening a federal rule that requires grocery stores, air-conditioning companies and others to reduce powerful greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Lee Zeldin, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, said the move would bring regulatory relief to grocery stores and refrigeration companies that have complained about the rule. The Biden-era rule, an outgrowth of a 2020 law signed by President Donald Trump, calls for steep reductions in production and use of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, starting next year. HFCs, often referred to as “super pollutants,” produce greenhouse gases that are thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide and are considered a major driver of climate change.