News

Montreal Protocol delegates meet again in person for the Thirty-Fourth Meeting of the Parties

Parties and other stakeholders convened for the Thirty-Fourth Meeting of the Parties (MOP34) in Montreal, Canada, from 31 October to 4 November 2022. The Montreal Protocol is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year and being in the birthplace of the Montreal Protocol for the meeting was befitting. The parties concluded their first in-person MOP since the COVID-19 pandemic, with a number of key decisions reached after rounds of lengthy negotiations. Read more

Amid food and climate crises, investing in sustainable food cold chains crucial

Sharm El-Sheikh, 12 November 2022 – As food insecurity and global warming rise, governments, international development partners and industry should invest in sustainable food cold chains to decrease hunger, provide livelihoods to communities, and adapt to climate change, the UN said today. Read more

Kigali Amendment boost for COP27

In a flurry of activity before next week’s COP27 meeting in Egypt, three more countries – Philippines, Nauru and Belarus – have ratified the Kigali Amendment to phase down HFC refrigerants. Read more

EIA cites rising emissions of ozone-depleting gases and HFC-23

The 2022 Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion, from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), has uncovered unexplained emissions of ozone-depleting CFCs (including 13, 112a, 113a, 114a, 115), HCFCs, and carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄), as well as super greenhouse gas HFC-23, according to a new report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). Read more

R290 cabinets make up 52% of unit sales for polish manufacturer JBG-2

JBG-2, a Polish manufacturer of commercial refrigeration display cases, has seen the market for propane (R290)-based equipment grow significantly over the past few years. Read more

Study reveals challenges for women in RACHP

Role models are seen as key to attracting the next generation of women refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump engineers. Read more

New report: curbing 90 billion tons of super-pollutant emissions aids climate fight

Minimizing refrigerant leaks and maximizing end-of-life recovery and reclamation can avoid fluorocarbon emissions equivalent to 90 billion metric tons of CO₂ this century and help avoid climate catastrophe, according to a new report released today by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD), and NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). Read more

Brazil and Zimbabwe approve Kigali Amendment

The number of countries to have approved the Kigali Amendment to phase down HFC refrigerants has grown to 139 with the latest addition of Zimbabwe and Federative Republic of Brazil. Read more

European Parliament member calls for bans on F-gases in refrigeration and ACs from 2024-2027

In an opinion on the revision of the EU F-gas Regulation, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Bas Eickhout calls for greater ambition than the European Commission (EC)’s proposal, through both bans on new refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment with fluorinated gases (HFCs and HFOs) between 2024 and 2027 and a more stringent HFC phase down. Read more

ATMOsphere estimates 55,000 stores using transcritical CO₂ in Europe

Based o a survey of key OEMs, ATMOsphere, publisher of R744.com, estimates that, as of September 2022, there are 55,000 stores with transcritical CO₂ system in Europe, including 50,000 using a centralized system (racks) and 5,000 using condensing units. Read more

Propane heat pump hits new efficiency record

Engineers in Germany developing a propane-based refrigeration circuit for heat pumps are said to have achieved a heating capacity of 12.8kW with only 124g of propane. Read more

‘Stop dumping old kit in our countries’ says African cooling body

Pan-African association U-3ARC warns that ‘environmental dumping’ stifles ability to adopt low-GWP and energy efficient technology Read more

Keeping fish fresh with slurry ice

For the fishing industry, rapid and efficient cooling of the catch is essential. The Icelandic producer KAPP builds and delivers slurry ice machines to the entire world. For this application, Vörukaup, BITZER PARTNER in Iceland, supplies BITZER ECOLINE tandem compressors Read more

North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council launches initiative to reduce super-polluting supermarket refrigerant leaks

The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC), a 501®(3) environmental nonprofit working to advance climate-friendly natural refrigerants in supermarkets, today announced its publication of a free leak reduction guide outlining the significant sources of refrigerant leaks in existing systems. Using data gathered by NASRC supermarket members, the document proposes equipment specification measures for new refrigeration systems to minimize leaks and reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions. Read more

Gas cooler control needed for efficient transcritical CO₂

Controlling the gas cooler outlet temperature (GCOT) in transcritical CO₂ (R744) refrigeration systems is “imperative for energy-efficient operation” of the technology in Australia – where ambient temperatures are high – according to Mike Baker, Managing Director of Australian commercial refrigeration contractor AJ Baker & Sons. Read more