In a bid to broaden news coverage, CCN has compiled a roundup of HVACR news from across the globe.
In London, the government has launched a taskforce designed to accelerate the rollout of natural refrigeration technologies across the retail sector.
Speaking at the annual Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) Climate Change Minister Greg Barker called on supermarkets to step up efforts to improve their energy efficiency, particularly through the deployment of new refrigeration technologies.
"I'm calling on retailers to agree to freeze out costly CFC refrigeration," he said.
"I'm also setting up a new taskforce with the retail sector to help unlock the significant further potential for energy savings in this sector."
The commercial refrigeration sector is responsible for over 30 per cent of the UK's HFC emissions and the European Parliament is currently discussing amendments to the EU F-Gas Regulation that would ban the use of HFCs in new refrigeration equipment by 2020.
Last weekend US President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping made a public pledge to scale back production of HFCs (Hydrochlorofluorocarbons), especially potent greenhouse gases used in refrigerators, air conditioners and insulating foam.
The phasedown is equivalent to removing 90 gigatons of CO2, or two years worth of emissions.
The agreement comes amid ongoing talks between the two nations, and ongoing greenhouse pressure from the multilateral Montreal Protocol.
Earlier this year China promised to end HFC production by 2030 to meet the terms for a $385 million assistance package from other Montreal nations, but these latest talks see a newly active role from the China and the US, the top two producers of HFCs worldwide.
Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency announced global emissions of carbon dioxide from energy use rose a record 1.4 per cent in 2012 to 31.6 gigatons.
This means the world is on track for the worst scientific projections with the global temperature set to rise 9 degrees Fahrenheit.
