Mark Vender
A special international publication has collected perspectives from around the globe on the transition to low-GWP refrigerants under the Kigali Amendment. With the help of local experts, it reveals how the HFC phase-down is tracking, the major challenges so far, and the potential solutions.
The Kigali Amendment aims to phase down HFC production worldwide by at least 80 per cent over the coming decades under the Montreal Protocol. The goal is to reduce direct emissions of these gases because of their large contribution to global warming – some HFCs are several thousand times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas. And many of them are used in refrigeration and air conditioning equipment.
If fully implemented, it is estimated that the Kigali Amendment could prevent up to 0.5°C of global warming by the end of this century. So far, 141 countries have signed on to the agreement, including, most recently, the US. Some, like Australia, have already been phasing down HFCs for a number of years.
To provide an update on this global effort, the Centro Studi Galileo (CSG) and the Renewable Energy Institute (REI), with support from the IIR, UNEP OzonAction and AREA, have collected experiences from around the world in a special publication: Advancing Kigali Goals Through HVACR.
As well as sharing perspectives from different countries, it analyses broader issues around HVAC&R, such as training in new refrigerants, and attracting more women to the industry.
The journal was distributed at Chillventa, and is officially being launched at MOP34 – the Thirty-Fourth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Montreal.
The articles and the entire publication can be accessed through a dedicated website.
Photo by Joshua Rawson-Harris on Unsplash
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