Biden admin bolsters climate ‘super pollutants’ crackdown

By Sean Reilly | 07/23/2024 01:38 PM EDT

The new measures by federal agencies and outside collaborators aim to better track and slash heat-trapping emissions.

President Joe Biden speaks.

President Joe Biden, pictured here at a previous White House event on climate change, announced new steps to cut down on climate "super pollutants." Susan Walsh/AP

The Biden administration says it is ramping up efforts to track and cut emissions of methane, hydrofluorocarbons and other especially potent greenhouse gases, both across government and in conjunction with an array of collaborators.

In a Tuesday announcement tied to a “super pollutants summit,” the White House outlined a series of steps to address those compounds, which trap heat much more effectively than carbon dioxide. Slashing emissions is thus “the fastest way to tackle climate change and a critical complement” to bringing down atmospheric CO2 levels, the announcement said.

The added steps include:

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The measures come on top of weightier initiatives to crack down on those pollutants in recent years. Those encompass the 2020 American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, which targeted hydrofluorocarbons used in heating and cooling equipment, and EPA regulations intended to slash stray methane output from the oil and gas industry.

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