Atlanta, Georgia: ASHRAE has commended the governments involved in the adoption of the HFC amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which is expected to result in a global phase down of production and consumption of hydro-fluorocarbons (HFCs). The agreement was signed in mid-October in Kigali, Rwanda.

The move comes as ASHRAE and leading United States government agencies, built-environment associations and companies launch a multi-million dollar research programme that will establish a more robust fact base about the properties and the use of flammable refrigerants.

“Flammable refrigerants hold great promise for reducing the use of HFCs in refrigerants and, thereby, lowering the environmental impact of air-conditioning and refrigeration systems,” ASHRAE President, Tim Wentz, said. “ASHRAE applauds the Kigali Amendment and is pleased to be a partner in cutting-edge research effort to better understand how to safely deploy flammable refrigerants.”

The agreement calls for reduction of HFCs equivalent to 80 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide through 2047 and will, thereby, avoid almost a half degree C of global warming. Several ASHRAE members were among those attending the Protocol meetings. Among them were ASHRAE Presidential Member, Jim Wolf and ASHRAE Director-at-Large, Bill McQuade.

“The update of product-safety standards and building codes to include A2L refrigerants is essential to the success of this agreement,” McQuade said. “The interest in our A2L research programme by the parties was very high.”