II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2325 

To establish a task force to review policies and measures to promote, and 

to develop best practices for, reduction of short-lived climate pollutants, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 30, 2019 

Mr. MURPHY (for himself and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

A BILL 

To establish a task force to review policies and measures 

to promote, and to develop best practices for, reduction 

of short-lived climate pollutants, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Super Pollutants Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds that— 

7 (1) short-lived climate pollutants account for 40 

8 percent of near-term global warming impacting the 

9 atmosphere, even though those pollutants account 


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1 for a much smaller percentage of warming agents by 

2 weight; 

3 (2) reducing short-lived climate pollutant emis4 sions could— 

5 (A) cut the rate of sea-level rise by 25 per6 cent, according to the National Center for At7 mospheric Research and the Scripps Institution 

8 of Oceanography; and 

9 (B) according to the United Nations Envi10 ronment Programme— 

11 (i) prevent more than 2,000,000 pre12 mature deaths each year; 

13 (ii) prevent more than 30,000,000 

14 tons of crop losses each year; 

15 (iii) cut the rate of warming by up to 

16 0.6 degrees Celsius by 2050; and 

17 (iv) significantly contribute toward the 

18 overall global target of holding increased 

19 warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius; 

20 (3) the United States— 

21 (A) is one of the largest consumers of hy22 drofluorocarbons in the world; 

23 (B) provides significant innovation in the 

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1 al warming potential alternatives that are al2 ready penetrating markets worldwide; and 

3 (C) could serve as a leader and exemplar 

4 of responsibly phasing down hydrofluorocarbon 

5 production and consumption, with strong sup6 port from industries that formerly used hydro7 fluorocarbons but are transitioning quickly to 

8 lower-global warming potential alternatives; 

9 (4) the Montreal Protocol on Substances that 

10 Deplete the Ozone Layer has been an extraordinarily 

11 successful model for— 

12 (A) protecting the stratospheric ozone 

13 layer; and 

14 (B) achieving significant climate protection 

15 cobenefits; 

16 (5) since the Montreal Protocol was signed in 

17 1987, there has been an elimination of more than 95 

18 percent of ozone-depleting substances; 

19 (6) on full implementation of the Montreal Pro20 tocol, the ozone layer should return to pre-1980 lev21 els by 2050; and 

22 (7) the Interagency Strategy to Reduce Meth23 ane Emissions, released in March 2014, outlines a 

24 proactive agenda for reducing methane leakage and 

25 waste throughout the United States economy. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis4 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ5 mental Protection Agency. 

6 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT7 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com8 mittees’’ means the Committee on Energy and Com9 merce of the House of Representatives and the Com10 mittee on Environment and Public Works of the 

11 Senate. 

12 (3) HIGH-GWP HFC.—The term ‘‘high-GWP 

13 HFC’’ means newly manufactured hydrofluorocar14 bons with a global warming potential calculated over 

15 a 100-year period of greater than 150, as described 

16 in the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovern17 mental Panel on Climate Change. 

18 (4) RELEVANT FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term 

19 ‘‘relevant Federal agency’’ ‘‘relevant Federal agen20 cy’’ means the Department of Agriculture, the De21 partment of Commerce, the Department of Defense, 

22 the Department of Energy, the Department of 

23 Health and Human Services, the Department of the 

24 Interior, the Department of State, the Department 

25 of Transportation, the Environmental Protection 

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1 ministration, the Council on Environmental Quality, 

2 the United States Agency for International Develop3 ment, and any other Federal agency the President 

4 determines appropriate. 

5 (5) SHORT-LIVED CLIMATE POLLUTANT.—The 

6 term ‘‘short-lived climate pollutant’’ means— 

7 (A) black carbon; 

8 (B) methane; and 

9 (C) high-GWP HFC. 

10 (6) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘‘Task Force’’ 

11 means the Interagency Task Force on Short-Lived 

12 Climate Pollutant Mitigation established under sec13 tion 4(a). 

14 SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON SHORT-LIVED CLI15 MATE POLLUTANT MITIGATION. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the President shall es18 tablish a task force, to be known as the Interagency Task 

19 Force on Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Mitigation. 

20 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the Task Force 

21 shall include the head (or a designee thereof) of each rel22 evant Federal agency. 

23 (c) DUTIES.—The Task Force shall— 

24 (1) not later than 180 days after the date of 

25 enactment of this Act, submit to the appropriate 


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1 congressional committees a report that includes spe2 cific plans of each relevant Federal agency— 

3 (A) to purchase cleaner alternatives to 

4 high-GWP HFC whenever feasible; and 

5 (B) to transition over time to equipment 

6 that uses safer and more sustainable alter7 natives to high-GWP HFC; 

8 (2) review the policy recommendations made 

9 by— 

10 (A) the Intergovernmental Panel on Cli11 mate Change; 

12 (B) the United States Climate Alliance; 

13 (C) the Interagency Strategy to Reduce 

14 Methane Emissions; 

15 (D) the Council on Climate Preparedness 

16 and Resilience; and 

17 (E) the Clean Cooking Alliance; 

18 (3) develop an action plan to reduce short-lived 

19 climate pollutants that incorporates any appropriate 

20 proposals or recommendations made by the entities 

21 referred to in paragraph (2) that are relevant to 

22 short-lived climate pollutants; 

23 (4) identify any Federal program that is, or 

24 could be, relevant to reducing short-lived climate pol25 lutants— 


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1 (A) in the United States; or 

2 (B) worldwide; 

3 (5) identify overlapping and duplicative Federal 

4 programs addressing short-lived climate pollutants 

5 that would benefit from consolidation and stream6 lining; 

7 (6) identify gaps and serious deficiencies in 

8 Federal programs targeted at short-lived climate pol9 lutants, including gaps and deficiencies that can be 

10 addressed through a combination of assessment, sci11 entific research, monitoring, and technological devel12 opment activities, with an emphasis on— 

13 (A) industry standards; and 

14 (B) public-private partnerships; 

15 (7) in developing recommendations, consult 

16 with affected stakeholders in private industry; and 

17 (8) not later than 18 months after the date of 

18 enactment of this Act, submit to the appropriate 

19 congressional committees a report describing the 

20 findings and recommendations resulting from the ac21 tivities described in paragraphs (2) through (7). 

22 SEC. 5. REDUCTION OF BLACK CARBON EMISSIONS. 

23 (a) COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with strategies 

25 adopted by the International Maritime Organization 


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1 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships, the 

2 Secretary of State, in consultation with the Sec3 retary of Transportation, the Secretary of Com4 merce, the Administrator, and the Commandant of 

5 the Coast Guard, shall develop a comprehensive plan 

6 to reduce black carbon emissions from ships based 

7 on appropriate emissions data from oceangoing ves8 sels. The plan shall provide for such reduction 

9 through— 

10 (A) a clean freight partnership; 

11 (B) limits on black carbon emissions; and 

12 (C) efforts that include protection of access 

13 to critical fuel shipments and emergency needs 

14 of coastal communities. 

15 (2) ROADMAP.—A principal objective of the 

16 plan developed pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be 

17 the establishment, in coordination with the Secretary 

18 of Transportation, of a roadmap for helping coun19 tries to reduce fine-particle (PM2.5) and black car20 bon emissions in the shipping sector through— 

21 (A) the installation of advanced emissions 

22 controls; 

23 (B) the reduction of sulfur content in 

24 fuels; and 


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1 (C) the adoption of black carbon control 

2 policies. 

3 (b) BLACK CARBON EMISSIONS REDUCTION

4 GOALS.—The Secretary of State, in coordination with rel5 evant Federal agencies, shall— 

6 (1) lead an effort to reduce black carbon 

7 through an Arctic-wide aspirational black carbon 

8 goal; and 

9 (2) encourage observers of the Arctic Council 

10 (including India and China) to adopt mitigation 

11 plans consistent with the findings and recommenda12 tions of the Arctic Council’s Framework for Action 

13 on Black Carbon and Methane. 

14 (c) CLIMATE AND CLEAN AIR COALITION.—The Sec15 retary of State is encouraged to work with the Climate 

16 and Clean Air Coalition To Reduce Short-Lived Climate 

17 Pollutants to craft specific financing mechanisms for the 

18 incremental cost of international black carbon mitigation 

19 activities. 

20 (d) BLACK CARBON MITIGATION ACTIVITIES.— 

21 (1) PRIORITIZATION.—The Administrator of 

22 the United States Agency for International Develop23 ment, in cooperation with the Administrator, shall— 


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1 (A) encourage black carbon mitigation ac2 tivities as part of official development assist3 ance and programmatic activities; 

4 (B) give special emphasis to projects that 

5 produce substantial environmental, gender, live6 lihood, and public health benefits, including 

7 support for clean-burning cookstoves and fuels; 

8 and 

9 (C) work with the Global Alliance for 

10 Clean Cookstoves to help developing nations es11 tablish thriving markets for clean and efficient 

12 cooking solutions. 

13 (2) EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS.—The Secretary of 

14 State, in collaboration with the Administrator and 

15 the Secretary of Transportation, shall provide aid to 

16 international efforts to reduce black carbon emis17 sions from diesel trucks and ships, 2-stroke engines, 

18 diesel generators, and industrial processes by pro19 viding technical assistance— 

20 (A) to help developing nations lower the 

21 sulfur content of diesel fuels; 

22 (B) to expand access to diesel particulate 

23 filters; 

24 (C) to provide vehicle manufacturers with 

25 low-emission engine designs; 


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1 (D) to develop other mitigation activities, 

2 including energy efficiency alternatives for gen3 erators and industrial processes; and 

4 (E) to reduce ammonia emissions from ag5 riculture. 

6 SEC. 6. GLOBAL REDUCTIONS IN HIGH-GWP FLUORINATED 

7 GASES. 

8 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ENERGY

9 STAR.—It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator, 

10 in cooperation with the Secretary of Energy, should con11 sider modifications to the Energy Star program estab12 lished under section 324A of the Energy Policy and Con13 servation Act (42 U.S.C. 6294a) to include refrigerant 

14 systems that— 

15 (1) achieve best-in-class energy efficiency sav16 ings; and 

17 (2) use next generation technologies for refrig18 erants and foam-blowing agents. 

19 (b) REPORT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the National 

22 Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 

23 in collaboration with the Administrator, the Sec24 retary of Energy, the Secretary of Transportation, 

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1 nology, shall submit to the Congress and publish a 

2 report that— 

3 (A) identifies and evaluates substitute 

4 technologies, products, practices, and processes 

5 for fluorinated compounds on a sector-by-sector 

6 basis for the sectors described in paragraph (2); 

7 (B) identifies and describes the legal, regu8 latory, technical, and other barriers to the de9 velopment and broader deployment of sub10 stitutes for fluorinated compounds within the 

11 sectors described in paragraph (2) and subsec12 tors therein in which such fluorinated com13 pounds are produced, used, and emitted; 

14 (C) includes recommendations regarding 

15 any changes in Federal law, regulation, guid16 ance, and practice that can lower, avoid, or 

17 eliminate the barriers identified in subpara18 graph (B); and 

19 (D) includes the earliest possible dates, or 

20 date ranges, by which each sector described in 

21 paragraph (2) can cease producing, using, and 

22 emitting fluorinated compounds and transition 

23 to substitute technologies, products, practices, 

24 and processes, taking into account technological 

25 feasibility, safety, availability, environmental 


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1 protection, and other relevant factors, includ2 ing, where applicable, the life-cycle climate per3 formance of fluorinated compounds and their 

4 substitutes. 

5 (2) SECTORS DESCRIBED.—The sectors de6 scribed in this paragraph are the following sectors: 

7 (A) Natural resource extraction and refin8 ing. 

9 (B) Power generation and transmission. 

10 (C) Transportation. 

11 (D) Solid waste. 

12 (E) Chemical production, and chemical in13 dustrial and commercial uses. 

14 (F) Agriculture. 

15 (G) Wastewater. 

16 (H) Buildings. 

17 (I) Any other sector or subsector that the 

18 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, 

19 and Medicine determines relevant. 

20 (c) SENSE OF SENATE REGARDING LEADERSHIP

21 AND SUPPORT.—It is the sense of the Senate that United 

22 States should provide leadership and full support of the 

23 amendment agreed to on October 15, 2016, by the parties 

24 to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the 

25 Ozone Layer, done at Montreal September 16, 1987, 


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1 which ensures a smooth, technically feasible global transi2 tion away from high-GWP HFC. 

3 (d) RECLAIMED REFRIGERANTS.— 

4 (1) REQUIREMENT.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

6 subparagraph (B), a refrigerant that is recov7 ered shall be reclaimed before the refrigerant is 

8 sold or transferred to a new owner. 

9 (B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) shall 

10 not apply in any case in which a recovered re11 frigerant is sold or transferred to a new owner 

12 solely for the purpose of being reclaimed or de13 stroyed. 

14 (2) PROMOTING USE IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

16 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

17 the Administrator of General Services shall 

18 issue guidance relating to the procurement of 

19 reclaimed refrigerants to service existing equip20 ment in public buildings. 

21 (B) PREFERENCE.—The guidance issued 

22 under subparagraph (A) shall give preference to 

23 the use of reclaimed refrigerants if— 

24 (i) the refrigerant was reclaimed by 

25 an individual or entity that is certified 


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1 under the laboratory certification program 

2 of the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Re3 frigeration Institute; and 

4 (ii) the price of the reclaimed refrig5 erant does not exceed the price of a newly 

6 manufactured refrigerant. 

7 SEC. 7. REDUCTION OF METHANE EMISSIONS. 

8 (a) TECHNICAL GUIDANCE.—The Administrator, the 

9 Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Energy, and the 

10 Secretary of State shall— 

11 (1) provide to foreign countries technical guid12 ance regarding containment of emissions from gas 

13 drilling, landfills, coal mining, and agriculture, in14 cluding through trade delegations and international 

15 initiatives such as— 

16 (A) the Global Shale Gas Initiative of the 

17 Department of State; and 

18 (B) the Global Methane Initiative; and 

19 (2) collaborate with— 

20 (A) the Global Gas Flaring Reduction 

21 Partnership of the World Bank; and 

22 (B) the Global Methane Initiative, the Nat23 ural Gas STAR Program, the Climate and 

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1 nership, and other voluntary reduction pro2 grams of the Environmental Protection Agency. 

3 (b) METHANE TARGETS.— 

4 (1) CODIFYING FINAL NSPS RULE.—The 

5 amendments to the Code of Federal Regulations 

6 made pursuant to the final rule of the Environ7 mental Protection Agency, titled ‘‘Oil and Natural 

8 Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New, Recon9 structed, and Modified Sources’’, and published in 

10 the Federal Register on June 3, 2016 (81 Fed. Reg. 

11 35824 et seq.), shall have the same force and effect 

12 of law as if such amendments had been enacted by 

13 an Act of Congress, except that the Administrator 

14 may revise such provisions, consistent with the Clean 

15 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), if such revision 

16 would result in a net reduction in methane or other 

17 greenhouse gas emissions. 

18 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING METHANE

19 REDUCTIONS FROM EXISTING FACILITIES.—It is the 

20 sense of Congress that— 

21 (A) oil and gas operations should reduce 

22 methane emissions from oil and gas by 40 to 45 

23 percent below 2012 levels by 2025; 

24 (B) voluntary efforts by select members of 

25 the oil and gas industry, such as the Oil and 


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1 Gas Climate Initiative, which has pledged to re2 duce the methane intensity of upstream gas and 

3 oil operations to less than 0.25 percent by cal4 endar year 2025, should be adopted by the in5 dustry as a whole; and 

6 (C) if the results of voluntary efforts fail 

7 to yield significant emissions reductions, as de8 scribed in subparagraph (A), pursuant to sec9 tion 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

10 7411(d)), the Administrator should— 

11 (i) not later than 1 year after the date 

12 of enactment of this Act, propose stand13 ards of performance for methane emissions 

14 from existing oil and gas operations; and 

15 (ii) not later than 1 year after the 

16 deadline described in clause (i), finalize the 

17 standards described in that clause. 

18 (c) SENSES OF CONGRESS.— 

19 (1) UNITED STATES LEADERSHIP.—It is the 

20 sense of Congress that United States leadership sup21 ports the guiding principles on ‘‘Reducing methane 

22 emissions across the national gas value chain’’ pub23 lished in November 2017. 

24 (2) FINANCING CONDITIONS.—It is the sense of 

25 Congress that, in evaluating gas and oil-related 


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1 projects for financial support, the United States Ex2 port-Import Bank and the Overseas Private Invest3 ment Corporation should condition financing for 

4 those projects on— 

5 (A) the deployment of the best technology, 

6 methods, and management practices for detect7 ing and repairing leaks of methane throughout 

8 the oil and gas production, processing, trans9 portation, and distribution system; 

10 (B) the minimization of venting and ineffi11 cient or unnecessary flaring; and 

12 (C) the deployment of best technology, 

13 methods, and management practices for reduc14 ing emissions of other air pollution, especially— 

15 (i) volatile organic compounds; and 

16 (ii) hazardous air pollutants. 

Æ 


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