The Environmental Protection Agency is sharply curbing the use and production of hydrofluorocarbons, the climate-warming chemicals widely used in air-conditioning and refrigeration.

It is the Biden government’s first significant regulatory initiative to decrease domestic greenhouse gas emission. The federal government is the first to establish national standards on HFCs or hydrofluorocarbons. These are more powerful than carbon dioxide in warming the earth. According to the EPA, the new rule can prevent global warming of up to 0.5 degrees Celsius by the end century.

Officials said that the agency would regulate chemicals starting next year and force the industry to reduce production and imports by 15% over the next fifteen years. The rule was proposed by the EPA in March. It will be completed on Thursday.

The agency’s rule is expected to reduce the equivalent of 4.7 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide by mid-century, or roughly three years’ worth of emissions from the country’s power sector at 2019 levels, according to estimates from the EPA.

Such a reduction would help the Biden administration’s pledge to curb U.S. emissions by in half by 2030 and reach a net-zero economy by 2050. In January the President issued an executive order requesting Congress to ratify 2016 Kigali Amendment (the 1987 Montreal Protocol), which seeks to phase down HFCs.

White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy on Wednesday called the agency’s rule a victory for combatting climate change and securing U.S. jobs.

McCarthy stated that as we progress in this direction we also open up huge opportunities for American industries during the briefing. It is an enormous climate success story to reduce HFCs.

According to the EPA HFC emissions rose from 2018 to 2019, as refrigeration and air conditioning demand soared in recent high temperatures.

Some U.S. manufacturers have already moved to more climate-friendly refrigerants, and some major chemical companies have supported the EPA’s proposal to phase down HFCs, including The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute, a trade group that represents manufacturers of heating and cooling equipment.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the new limits will help the country transition to more energy-efficient cooling technologies while creating new jobs.

Regan stated during the briefing that “This action confirms what President Biden has always said: He thinks about climate and jobs.” He knows his administration is concerned about the economic impact of what’s best for the environment.