The UNIDO ATMOsphere Technology Summit, which will be held on 3-4 June in Vienna, Austria, has been selected as an official Green Week satellite event. Organised by the European Commission, this year’s Green Week focuses on “Cleaner air for all.”

Green Week is the biggest annual conference on European environment policy. The main conference will be held from 4 to 7 June at the Egg Conference Centre in Brussels. Green week also incorporates satellite events around Europe, one of which will be the UNIDO ATMOsphere Technology Summit – Natural Solutions for Developing Countries.

Green Week 2013 – “Cleaner air for all”

The 2013 theme, “Cleaner air for all,” coincides with the European Commissions plans to review current air policy this year. One of the main focuses of the reviews will be finding ways to improve the quality of the air we breathe, because air pollution is not only damaging to the environment, but it also threatens our health, causing premature deaths as well as respiratory, cardiovascular and cancer diseases. Although significant measures have been taken over the past two decades to improve air quality, standards remain widely exceeded in the EU’s most densely populated areas.

UNIDO ATMOsphere – context and topicality

The heating and cooling sectors are some of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, many of which come from refrigerant emissions. Although CFCs and HCFCs have been banned or are being phased out, HFCs will still have an immediate and significant effect on the climate system. It is expected that HFC global emissions could rise to about 19% of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by 2050.

This spike in consumption is, in large part, driven by the increasing demand for refrigeration and air conditioning in developing countries. Experts predict that, without further controls, HFC emissions could negate the entire climate benefits achieved under the Montreal Protocol. Replacing these environmentally harmful chemicals with natural substances such as CO₂, ammonia, hydrocarbons, air and water, which are neither ozone-depleting nor contribute to global warming, would allow for considerable greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

As HVAC&R related emissions continue to rise in developing countries, it is important to facilitate the introduction of natural solutions, in an effort to “leapfrog” HFCs by transitioning from HCFCs to environmentally-friendly and energy efficient natural substances. Therefore, UNIDO ATMOsphere Technology Summit brings together key HVAC&R industry stakeholders, including end-users, manufacturers, government representatives, associations and more, from both developed and developing countries, to discuss natural solutions for the developing world.

More information about UNIDO ATMOsphere Technology Summit:

Visit UNIDO ATMOsphere event page

View preliminary programme

Register for UNIDO ATMOsphere 

More information about Green Week:

Visit European Commission Green Week website