EPA's Lee Zeldin finalizes a rule pushing HFC refrigerant phaseout deadlines from 2027 to 2032

On May 21, 2026, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced a final rule extending supermarket HFC refrigerant compliance deadlines from 2027 to 2032 and raising allowable refrigerant potency limits nearly tenfold under the AIM Act. The Trump administration claimed the change would save consumers over $800 million in grocery costs; industry groups that had already retooled warned the reversal would raise refrigerant prices by increasing demand for refrigerants whose supply was shrinking. NRDC estimated each year of delay adds HFC emissions equivalent to one million additional cars on U.S. roads.