On November 17th, Sweden became the 20th country to formally ratify the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol: the number necessary for the amendment to enter into force beginning January 1, 2019.
The Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy has sent letters to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt urging that the United States uphold its commitments to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, and the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol that was adopted in October 2016.
Make way for the new class of refrigerants that await its entry in the global commercial markets. These are not the generic class of compounds that have been haunting the dreams and discussions of active environmental activists and forums respectively. When the world is out on the hunt for fresh additions to the list of already known refrigerants in the market, their approach is fixated to a singular point of product development — aim at coolants with low-global warming potential (GWP).
Stephen Yurek, president and CEO of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, & Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), recently discussed the Kigali Agreement and some of the effects it may have on the HVACR industry with The NEWS.
The Kigali amendment is subject to ratification in the U.S. and will formally take effect when 20 member parties to the Montreal Protocol ratify or accept the amendment, which could take up to two years.
Acknowledging the success of the Montreal Protocol in phasing out hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), AHRI has long supported including HFCs in a global phasedown plan under the treaty.
AHRI, U.S. government agencies, and energy-efficiency advocacy groups have all worked diligently for many years to ensure a phasedown of these refrigerants.
The 197 Parties to the Montreal Protocol, meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, have struck a global agreement which will see HFC refrigerant consumption and production phased down from 2019. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called the deal 'a monumental step forward.'
The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) announced that it applauds the agreement reached in Kigali, Rwanda, by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol to include HFC refrigerants under the treaty.
The HVACR industry is primarily concerned with producing an amendment to the protocol that defines a hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) phasedown schedule, paving the way for the use of alternative refrigerants.