The Trump administration is planning to ease rules governing the phaseout of planet-warming hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in cooling equipment, it said Thursday.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in a press release a Biden-era rule governing the phaseout of these chemicals led to “an increase in consumer costs and shortages.”

As a result, the EPA says that to address the issue, it will propose to allow the use of refrigerants that are much more potent contributors to global warming for the time being.

HFCs are a family of chemicals that are used in cooling, including in refrigerators and air conditioners. 

They replaced ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons. However, they are highly potent greenhouse gases and therefore have become a significant contributor to climate change. 

In 2020, President Trump signed a bipartisan compromise into law that requires an 85 percent phasedown in their use by 2036.

In 2023, the Biden administration issued a rule restricting the use of more potent HFCs during the phasedown. The Biden rule limited some sectors to only using hydrofluorocarbons that are no more than 150, 300 or 700 times as powerful as carbon dioxide.

The Trump administration is now proposing to loosen the rules for certain sectors, allowing retail fridges to now use chemicals that are 1,400 times as powerful as carbon dioxide, for example. It is also delaying compliance timelines for certain industrial process refrigerators.

“Hardworking Americans have made their voices and frustrations heard about the lack of availability of refrigerant alternatives during hot summer months and regulations that increase the cost of living for families. Today, the Trump EPA is heeding the call for change,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin in a written statement. 

“With this proposal, EPA is working to make American refrigerants affordable, safe, and reliable again,” he added.