Global warming is a problem worldwide, and President Obama is working with a number of companies in order to reduce climate change.
Hydrofluorocarbons, or HFC's, are a class of powerful greenhouse gases at the center of the new effort to reduce warming trends worldwide. They are roughly 10,000 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping solar heat in the atmosphere of the Earth. The chemicals are widely used in manufacturing refrigerators and air conditioners.
The new agreement is also aimed at reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 770 million tons. This is the same amount of gas given off by 15 million automobiles, over the course of 10 years.
Global warming will be affected by a doubling of HFC concentrations in the air by the year 2020, and that amount is expected to triple by 2030, according to the administration.
American manufacturers have pledged, as part of the agreement, to invest in new technologies, designed to replace HFC's in cooling devices, foams and other products.
"This summer, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed two new rules under the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program that would smooth transition to climate-friendly alternatives to HFCs, including by expanding the list of acceptable alternatives and limiting use of some of the most harmful HFCs where lower risk alternatives are available," the White House reported in a press release announcing the agreement.
The Air Conditioning Heating & Refrigeration Institute, which represents 90 percent of the American manufacturers of the products, pledged $5 billion in research investments.
Coca-Cola, which already manages one million HFC-free cooling units - 30 percent of their global total - pledged to convert the rest of the equipment to environmentally-friendly versions. Efficiency of their units has improved by 50 percent since the year 2000.
Pepsi Co., Coca Cola's largest competitor, has already started purchasing HFC-free equipment and committed to 100 percent HFC-free new equipment by the year 2020.
Red Bull, manufacturer of energy drinks, has also pledged not to buy any vending machines or other equipment utilizing HFC's whenever feasible and legal. Coolers used by the corporation use 45 percent less energy than similar equipment used in recent years.
Chemical giant Dupont, which first developed fluorinated refrigerants, announced new products, including a unique method of foam production that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of 90 million tons of carbon dioxide each year.
Retailers are also getting in on the action. Target recently constructed a pair of cold storage facilities, utilizing ammonia in place of the environmentally-hazardous hydrofluorocarbons.
A United Nations climate change summit will be held in New York City, to begin 15 months of negotiations on a comprehensive international policy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
