shecco has re-launched The Natural Voice campaign with an open statement supported by 71 signatories to acknowledge the global potential of natural refrigerants. At a side-event, ATMOsphere Network Paris 2015, organised during the 36th Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, shecco and invited speakers outlined their vision for a faster, safe and more efficient roll-out of HFC-free technologies.
shecco has made yet another step to draw attention to the worldwide untapped technological, social and economic potential of natural refrigerants. By re-launching “The Natural Voice” (TNV) statement, shecco invites all interested industry representatives, associations, non-profit organisations, and any other party to speak out about the current and future replacement potential of non-ozone depleting, no or low global warming natural substances.The Natural Voice: Call for Action with tangible results
The statement calls upon the users and suppliers of heating, refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment to recognise their responsibility for avoiding direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions while at the same time shaping climate opportunities of tomorrow by opting for well-known, low-cost natural refrigerants.
It also encourages national governments and the industry to pick the “low hanging fruit” of reducing HFCs under the Montreal Protocol without further delay.
“Re-launching The Natural Voice at this point in time is crucial. On one hand, we are seeing the momentum from a rapidly growing industry base worldwide, both end-users and suppliers, investing in future-proof heating, refrigeration and air-conditioning solutions without climate-damaging synthetic gases. Secondly, we are still confronted with basic misconceptions about the best use of natural substances among national governments, commercial end-users and the individual consumers. Therefore, what is needed now is one global call for action not only to address remaining barriers but more importantly to provide evidence of a global business case for users and producers of natural refrigerant-based technologies,” said Nina Masson, Deputy Managing Director, shecco.
Sidi Menad Si Ahmed, shecco’s International Chief Advisor reasserted the timely re-launch of the global initiative in view of the on-going negotiations of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol: “A growing evidence has been provided on the replacement of synthesised chemical substances by natural refrigerants, in particular in terms of safety, which has been time and time again the major argument against the use of flammable substances such as hydrocarbons.”
“The Natural Voice will continue calling on all Parties to adopt natural refrigerants as a major response to replace HCFCs and HFCs as a long-term solution and to stop the chemical treadmill,” underscored Si Ahmed.
71 signatories representing HVAC&R system and component suppliers, industry associations, development agencies, NGOs and research institutes currently support the TNV statement. As a next step, TNV will grow its number of signatories over the coming months, while also joining forces with like-minded organisations to implement actionable initiatives supporting the uptake of natural refrigerants.
ATMOsphere Network Paris shows natural refrigerants are increasingly deployed in a variety of applications
In addition to the re-launch of The Natural Voice, industry, research, policy and NGO representatives outlined the latest developments and their view on the future of natural refrigerants in different applications at ATMOsphere Network Paris 2015. Adbul-Kazeem Bayero of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Environment pointed out the rapidly increasing servicing sector for hydrocarbons in domestic refrigerators and air conditioning, and provided updates on the hydrocarbon refrigerant production facility soon to be commissioned and fully commercialised. Juergen Goeller of Carrier Transicold & Refrigeration Systems explained how the use of CO2 across the whole supply chain is increasing. The presentation by Bastian Zeiger of Öko-Recherche concluded that a large portion of the current HCFC demand in developing countries can be replaced with natural refrigerants, including in high ambient temperature regions. Clare Perry from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) spoke of the clear benefits of natural refrigerants under the backdrop of the HCFC phase out.
All these presentations went to show that as Masson asserted, “natural refrigerants are in many cases mainstream solutions”, but yet are under-represented in government plans.
More information
The Natural Voice website: http://www.thenaturalvoice.org/
ATMOsphere Network Paris 2015: http://www.atmo.org/events.details.php?eventid=38
About shecco
For the last 15 years market accelerator shecco has been active in helping bring climate friendly technologies faster to market. shecco supports over 100+ partners worldwide in the HVAC&R sector, where the focus is on sustainable refrigeration, heating & cooling technologies using natural refrigerants. shecco offers a variety of services in three areas: 1) media, including online industry platforms, magazines and a catalogue of dedicated research reports; 2) market development, including market research, consultancy and public affairs services, as well as special international projects; and 3) events, including international conferences and national workshops.
Contact
Nina Masson
Deputy Managing Director
shecco
nina.masson@shecco.com
Sidi Menad Si Ahmed
International Chief Advisor
shecco
sidi.siahmed@shecco.com
Klára Skačanová
Deputy Manager, Market Development
shecco Europe
klara.skacanova@shecco.com
