With the embers of COP28 still burning bright, it was exciting to travel to Chicago for the AHR Expo, which concluded on January 24. The Global Cooling Pledge, which was one among nine non-negotiated declarations, pledges and charters that constituted key outcomes of the COP28 Presidential Action Agenda, was the basis of my interactions with a diversity of stakeholders at the Expo. 

The fact that the United States was one of the signatories of the Pledge added that extra bit of context for the interactions, though I must hastily add that the Expo was a global HVACR event, with exhibitors from around the world dotting the vast landscape of companies on the show floor. 

Considering that the Pledge provides an opportunity to commit to sustainable cooling with concrete actions, it was interesting to ask manufacturers of HVACR equipment, in particular, on how they proposed to respond to such a key outcome of COP28. Just in case you have not read the details of the Pledge, it aims to raise ambition and international cooperation through collective global targets to reduce cooling related emissions by 68% from December 2023 to 2050, significantly increase access to sustainable cooling by 2030, and increase the global average efficiency of new air conditioners by 50%. 

In addition to meeting manufacturers on the subject, the Expo was an opportunity to meet Steve Yurek, the CEO and President of AHRI, for an exclusive face-to-face. The interview appears in the February issue, as part of a detailed post-event coverage, as does the broadcast version in Climate Control Middle East’s new-look Web site. 

Another point of discussion during the Expo was ASHRAE Standard 241. The manufacturers I met spoke with candour and shared interesting insights. Their views, too, form part of the post-event coverage and of the broadcast feature in the new Web site. At this juncture, it is pertinent to mention that visiting the Expo was an opportunity to meet the man who led the development of the Standard. Dr Bill Bahnfleth, Professor in the Department of Architectural Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University, and the Chairperson of the ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force, spearheaded the drafting of the Standard, and for that, he won the Editor’s Choice Award during the 13^th Edition of the Climate Control Awards, in December 2023. He was not able to attend the ceremony, and so the Expo became a venue to hand over the trophy to him. 

February is a busy month. I am headed to ACREX, mid-month, in Noida, India, and from there, to The Big 5, towards the end of the month, in Riyadh. And then, there is Mostra Convegno, in mid-March, in Milan, Italy. So, quite a lot to look forward to in Q1, really!