Thursday, April 30, 2009
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Obama administration, in a major environmental policy shift, is leaning toward asking 195 nations that ratified the U.N. ozone treaty to enact mandatory reductions in hydrofluorocarbons, according to U.S. officials and documents obtained by The Associated Press.
“We’re considering this as an option,” Environmental Protection Agency spokeswoman Adora Andy said Wednesday, emphasizing that, although a final decision has not been made, it was accurate to describe this as the administration’s “preferred option.”
The change — the first U.S.-proposed mandatory global cut in greenhouse gases — would transform the ozone treaty into a strong tool for fighting global warming.
“Now it’s going to be a climate treaty, with no ozone-depleting materials, if this goes forward,” an EPA technical expert said Wednesday.