Washington, D.C.–Today, Congresswomen Deborah Ross (NC-02) and Valerie Foushee (NC-04) introduced the Tropospheric Ozone Research Act of 2026 to fund multi-year scientific research on the warming effects of tropospheric ozone. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced companion legislation in the Senate earlier this year.
Unlike the ozone layer that protects the Earth from UV radiation, tropospheric ozone is a major air pollutant and potent greenhouse gas found near the surface of the Earth. It causes an estimated 500,000 premature deaths and up to 26 percent losses in crop yields globally each year. Tropospheric ozone is also the third-largest driver of climate change after carbon dioxide and methane.
Because tropospheric ozone lasts only weeks in the atmosphere, cutting tropospheric ozone could significantly reduce temperatures in the near term, alleviating the severity of climate change effects and reducing the risk of crossing climate tipping points.
The bill would fund a three-year, $10M per year scientific research program on the warming effects of tropospheric ozone. It would also direct EPA to publish a summary report identifying key findings, assessing the costs and benefits of mitigating tropospheric ozone precursors, and providing policy recommendations and future research needs.
The legislation is endorsed by the Clean Air Task Force and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
“For years, we have known that tropospheric ozone pollution is costing lives and driving climate change, but there is still so much we need to understand to effectively address it,” said Congresswoman Deborah Ross. “This bill will empower our scientific community to find solutions to reduce tropospheric ozone’s harmful effects and its contributions to global warming. We need research and information in order to act against super pollutants like tropospheric ozone so we can confront the growing climate crisis.”
"In the wake of continued cuts to climate research funding by the Trump administration, it is now more important than ever to support the efforts at scientific research institutions and universities to better understand the ozone so that municipalities, farmers, and legislatures alike can be better prepared for future events caused by climate change,” said Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (NC-04). “I’m proud to co-lead the Tropospheric Ozone Research Act with Congresswoman Ross to improve scientific understanding of the tropospheric ozone’s warming impacts and inform future strategies to reduce global temperatures.”
“The Tropospheric Ozone Research Act of 2026 and its House companion bill would advance our understanding of ground-level ozone as a climate super pollutant, said Dr. Richie Kaur, Senior Superpollutant Reduction Advocate at NRDC. “Tropospheric ozone is an air pollutant and a fast-acting driver of warming that damages human health, food systems, and ecosystems, with disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities. At the same time, it represents a great opportunity for near-term progress—where stronger science can inform practical policies that deliver rapid public health, ecosystem, and climate benefits. As the world overshoots 1.5 degrees of warming above pre-industrial levels, we need to examine every tool in the climate toolkit to bend the warming curve.”
“Tropospheric ozone pollution has been neglected by policymakers despite its contribution to roughly half a million premature deaths a year, billions of dollars in economic damages, and about a quarter degree of present-day warming," said Darin Schroeder, Methane Legal and Regulatory Director at Clean Air Task Force. "The research funded by this bill and its companion in the Senate would create the knowledge base to change that inaction. This scientific investment would improve our understanding of how tropospheric ozone moves through and affects our atmosphere, providing a firm foundation for the US to better develop and target the solutions to drive this harmful pollutant down.”
Bill text is available here.
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