The media have failed to capture the significance of the Senate’s ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. Over 20 Republicans joined Democrats to back this international agreement designed to address climate change.

Kigali’s emissions reductions come with the phase-down of HFCs, a greenhouse gas that is used in refrigerants and air conditioning. This strong GOP showing may come as a surprise, especially given conservative skepticism of multilateral agreements such as the Paris climate accord. But rest assured, Republicans haven’t embraced climate change globalism. Instead, they were driven largely by commercial interests since Kigali approval is expected to generate roughly 150,000 direct and indirect jobs. Moreover, the U.S. industry stands to gain a 25% greater global market share in refrigerant alternatives.