Eleventh International Conference on Climate Change: Impacts & Responses

Abstract

The refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump sectors are responsible for almost 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. One third of such are the so called “direct emissions,” linked to the venting into the atmosphere of the working fluid, or refrigerant, used in vapor compression equipment, which is the most extensively used refrigeration technology. Two third of such are the so called “indirect emissions,” linked to the energy consumed to run the equipment. To minimize the impact on climate change of the sector, both causes have to be addressed. To reduce the impact caused by refrigerants, the Kigali Amendment of Montreal Protocol, adopted in 2016, will progressively phase-down the HFCs (HydroFluoroCarbons), the refrigerants adopted after the phase-out of CFCs (ChloroFluoroCarbons) and HCFCs (HydroChloroFluoroCarbons) due to the fact that they deplete the stratospheric ozone layer. To reduce indirect emissions the refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump industry are strongly committed to enhance the energy efficiency of the equipment they produce.