24 January 2013: AIRAH has released its discussion paper, Transition to low-emission HVAC&R : Issues and solutions, for public and industry review (later finalised in March 2013). The paper is available at the “Resources” section of the AIRAH website, www.airah.org.au, with comments due by 5pm, Friday February 8.

AIRAH CEO Phil Wilkinson, M. AIRAH, says the paper was prepared to facilitate industry discussions about the steps that need to be taken to help transition the Australian heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) industry to a low-emission future.

“Transition to low-emission HVAC&R: Issues and solutions represents the HVAC&R industry’s most ambitious project in years,” Wilkinson says.

“The discussion paper’s purpose is to canvass industry stakeholders and help build consensus on the best ways to help the industry make the transition to low-emission practices and technology.

“This discussion paper will form the basis of an industry summit to be held to consider the key issues, solutions and actions that need to be taken to make that transition.”

Wilkinson says that given the national and international concern regarding carbon dioxide emissions and the resulting atmospheric effects, there is growing regulatory, financial and community pressure for the HVAC&R industry to reduce its environmental impact and increase its efficiency.

“The industry needs to make this transition to low-emission practices and technologies because governments are demanding it, the environment needs it, and society is expecting it,” Wilkinson says. “The sector is a substantial consumer of energy and a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The HVAC&R sector is responsible for a considerable portion of Australian national emissions.”

Wilkinson says the following estimates have been made:

• 24 per cent of Australia’s emissions are directly attributable to the built environment in which HVAC&R is a significant consumer (30 to 50 per cent);
  3–5 per cent of Australian emissions are directly attributable to the refrigeration cold chain; and
• 1–3 per cent of Australian direct emissions are attributable to direct refrigerant emissions.
• “The purpose of this discussion paper is not to immediately solve all of the issues faced by the industry or to mandate the essential steps that the industry must take to be environmentally and commercially effective,” Wilkinson says.

“Rather, Transition to low-emission HVAC&R: Issues and solutions provides industry stakeholders with a mechanism within which they can identify the main issues faced by their sector, share ideas and suggest some solutions that can be implemented to address those issues.”

Feedback and comment about the discussion paper will be compiled and considered for incorporation into a final discussion paper. This will be used to frame discussion at the AIRAH Industry Summit 2013, an invitation-only event for HVAC&R stakeholders to be held in Melbourne on March 27.

The discussion paper evolved out the AIRAH Industry Summit 2012, held last March in the lead-up to the carbon-equivalent levy on certain refrigerants known as synthetic greenhouse gases. The levy was introduced as part of the Australian Government’s Clean Energy Future legislative package on July 1 last year.

The AIRAH Industry Summit 2012 brought together 30 key stakeholders and representatives from government and industry organisations to discuss implications arising from the carbon tax and the levy.

A communiqué was distilled from the summit’s conversations. This called on the government to take a number of urgent actions, including a call for more funding, awareness-raising and the formation of an interdepartmental committee.

Transition to low-emission HVAC&R: Issues and solutions and the AIRAH Industry Summit 2013 are intended to help provide strategic direction for the industry’s future.

AIRAH Fellow Stefan Jensen, F.AIRAH, who serves on the steering committee for the discussion paper and is committee chair for AIRAH’s coming Refrigeration 2013 conference, says the importance of the discussion paper should not be underestimated.

“If the industry can manage to implement the changes discussed in Transition to low-emission HVAC&R: Issues and solutions over the next decade,” Jensen says, “it will represent the most significant shift in industry attitudes since the Montreal Protocol.”

For a link to the discussion paper, click here.