A prior ruling on climate-warming coolants may tie the hands of federal appeals judges—even if they agree with chemical makers in support of limiting those coolants.
Judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit appeared sympathetic March 8 to arguments from major chemical producers Honeywell Inc. and The Chemours Company, as well as the Natural Resources Defense Council, that the Environmental Protection Agency has authority to restrict the use of the coolants under the Clean Air Act.
But the three judges—Judges Judith W. Rogers, Robert L. Wilkins, and Harry T. Edwards