Trump will ease refrigerant rule in effort to address surging grocery costs

[OKIsItJustMe]

https://apnews.com/article/refrigerants-epa-hfc-air-conditioners-trump-eb0ffc23a65b42171d834c3700585123

By MATTHEW DALY
Updated 10:13 AM EDT, May 21, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is set to loosen a federal rule that requires grocery stores and air-conditioning companies to reduce greenhouse gases used in cooling equipment, in what officials say is a push to lower grocery costs.

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lee Zeldin, said the Biden-era rule imposes costly restrictions that limit the type of refrigerants U.S. businesses and families can use.

The new rule will “allow businesses to choose the refrigeration systems that work best for them, saving them billions of dollars. This will be felt directly by American families in lower grocery prices,” Zeldin said in a statement released before a White House event Thursday where President Donald Trump is scheduled to announce the changes. Executives from Kroger, Piggly Wiggly and other grocery chains are expected to join him.

With voter concerns over the cost of living spiking before pivotal elections in November, the Republican administration is trying to address affordability issues. It is not clear how much or how quickly the loosening of the refrigerant rule might ease grocery prices.

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Yeah! that’ll solve the problem of rising food prices for sure!

[underpants]

1. Them saving money doesn't mean they lower costs.

This is just an excuse to harm the planet.

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. Even if it did lower costs to consumers, how much would it lower the price of a single "carton of eggs?"

How much would it lower the cost of a loaf of bread (and all of the other non-refrigerated items?)

[Dave Bowman]

3. That makes so much sense. 🙄

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

4. What a fucking idiot

[dickthegrouch]

5. Have to buy all new fridges first

Amortizing the upfront costs mean even higher groceries in the short term imho.

[OKIsItJustMe]

6. I had a similar thought, but I don't know that it's correct

Some refrigerants can be used interchangeably.

[OKIsItJustMe]

7. Ah! Here we go...

https://apnews.com/article/hfc-alternative-refrigerants-air-conditioners-trump-epa-fb2d3c8bd3029b9f924e9adb45bedfb4

Trump administration moves to loosen restrictions it once supported on a harmful pollutant

BY MATTHEW DALY
Updated 11:31 AM EDT, November 7, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — Near the end of his first term, President Donald Trump signed into law a bill that aimed to reduce harmful, planet-warming pollutants emitted by refrigerators and air conditioners. The bipartisan measure brought environmentalists and major business groups into rare alignment on the contentious issue of climate change and won praise across the political spectrum.

Five years later, the second Trump administration is reversing course, as it moves to loosen a federal rule — based on the 2020 law — that requires grocery stores, air-conditioning companies and others to reduce powerful greenhouse gases used in cooling equipment.

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Industry groups supported the phaseout
The 2020 law signed by Trump, known as the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, phased out HFCs as part of an international agreement on ozone pollution. The law accelerated an industry shift to alternative refrigerants that use less harmful chemicals and are widely available.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Chemistry Council, the top lobbying group for the chemical industry, were among numerous business groups that supported the law and an international deal on pollutants, known as the Kigali Amendment, as wins for jobs and the environment. U.S. companies such as Chemours and Honeywell developed and produce the alternative refrigerants sold in the U.S. and around the world.

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