What HFCs are prohibited in California and why?

California is required to reduce HFC emissions 40 percent below 2013 levels by 2030 under Senate Bill 1383 (Health & Saf. Code § 39730.5). HFCs are synthetic gases that are used in a variety of applications, but mainly to replace ozone-depleting substances in aerosols, foams, refrigeration and air-conditioning. HFCs have a powerful impact on climate as they trap heat in the atmosphere at a rate thousands of times that of carbon dioxide.

To help meet the HFC reduction goal, California adopted the same prohibitions that were previously in place at the federal level through the California Cooling Act (Senate Bill 1013, Health & Saf. Code § 39734) and through a regulation approved by the California Air Resources Board (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 17, §§ 95371, et seq). The federal prohibitions California adopted under SB 1013 originated from the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (U.S. EPA) Significant New Alternative Policy (SNAP) Program, Rules 20 and 21, which were partially vacated in 2017. Similar to the federal SNAP Rules, the California prohibitions are end-use and sector-specific.

To provide clarity to the regulated community, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) took action to consolidate the California regulation (previously Cal. Code Regs., tit. 17, §§ 95371-95377) and the statute (SB 1013, Health and Saf. Code § 39734) into one place (https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/regact/2020/casnap100.pdf). CARB incorporated the SB 1013 statutory provisions into the regulation under a provision of the law that allows for statutory changes to be incorporated into regulations without an additional rulemaking (Cal. Code of Regs., tit. 1, § 100). These are called “changes without regulatory effect” – meaning they only incorporate SB 1013 as is already in place and do not add or remove any requirements that are not already law. This added one additional section to the numbering structure (now Cal. Code Regs., tit. 17, §§ 95371-95378). The regulation can be found here (https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/regact/2020/casnap100.pdf). 

For a summary of the HFC prohibitions and the effective dates, see the table below. The effective dates provided refer to the date the aerosol, foam, or equipment was manufactured. This table is not meant as a substitute for reading the laws and regulations and does not expand or change the laws and regulations. Please see Health and Safety Code section 39734 and California Code of Regulations, title 17, sections 95371, et seq. for more information.

This Factsheet only identifies HFCs. Prohibitions on manufacture and sale of chlorofluorocarbons, hydrochlorofluorocarbons, methylene chloride, and other non-HFC substitutes are not included. For these prohibitions, please reference the law.

Learn more about CARB’s strategy for reducing HFCs and other short-lived climate pollutants (https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/short-lived-climate-pollutants).

The following tables contain HFC prohibitions for both Senate Bill 1013 and the CARB HFC Regulation.

Aerosols

Foams

Retail Food Refrigeration

Cold Storage Warehouses

Vending Machines

Residential Refrigeration Appliances

Chillers

[1] (#_ftnref1) Under the narrowed use limit, use is limited to military or space- and aeronautics-related applications where reasonable efforts have been made to ascertain that other alternatives are not technically feasible due to performance or safety requirements.

[2] (#_ftnref2) Low pressure two-component spray foam kits manufactured or before January 1, 2025, may be used after that date.

[3] (#_ftnref3) See Footnote 2.

[4] (#_ftnref4) One-component foam sealant cans manufactured on or before January 1, 2020, may be used after that date.

[5] (#_ftnref5) “Medium-temperature” refers to equipment that maintains food or beverages at temperatures above 32°F (0 °C).

[6] (#_ftnref6) “Low-temperature” refers to equipment that maintains food or beverages at temperatures at or below 32°F (0 °C).