vS-EPA
Fact Sheet
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Proposed Rule: Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program: Addition of Global Warming Potentials
Action
•	The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to establish chemical-specific and default
global warming potentials (GWPs) for fluorinated greenhouse gases (GHGs) and fluorinated heat transfer fluids
(HTFs) that are reported to the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) but that do not currently have
GWPs under the Program.
•	At present, fluorinated GHGs and HTFs that do not have GWPs under the program are generally assigned a
GWP of"0" for purposes of the calculations and reporting under the GHGRP.
•	Assigning chemical-specific or default GWPs to these compounds would ensure that the atmospheric impacts
of all fluorinated GHGs and HTFs are reflected in the carbon-dioxide equivalents calculated and reported under
the Program.
Chemical-specific GWPs
•	We are proposing to add chemical-specific GWPs for approximately 100 fluorinated GHGs to Table A-l of
subpart A, the GHGRP's compendium of GWPs. Most of these GWPs are drawn from IPCC Fifth Assessment
Report (AR5), which was published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in the fall of
2013. The GWPs would generally be applied to fluorinated GHGs that did not have GWPs listed in the Fourth
Assessment Report (AR4).
•	Using AR5 GWPs for these fluorinated GHGs is consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) Reporting Guidelines, which strongly encourage reporting of emissions of
additional GHGs for which 100-year global warming potential values are available from the IPCC (i.e., AR5).
Default GWPs
•	We are also proposing to amend Table A-l to add default GWPs for fluorinated GHGs and fluorinated HTFs
for which peer-reviewed GWPs are not available in AR5 or elsewhere. The eight default GWPs would be
applied to fluorinated GHGs and HTFs based on their differing chemical structures, which are related to their
GWPs. For each fluorinated GHG group, we are basing the proposed default GWPs on the average of the
chemical-specific GWPs of chemicals that belong to that group and that are either on Table A-l or are proposed
to be added to Table A-l under this proposed rule.
Impacts
•	We do not expect these changes to affect the applicability of the GHGRP.
More information
•	The EPA is accepting comments on the proposed rule until [insert date 30 days after publication of the
proposed rule].
•	For more information on the GHGRP and a prepublication version of this action please visit our Web site at:
www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ghgrulemaking.html
40 CFR 98
July 2014
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