Reviewing refrigeration standards

There is an urgent need to assess flammable refrigerants with changing technology

A standard is an agreed, repeatable way of doing something. Every product manufactured needs to follow a specific standard so that there is uniformity in it and manufacturers can be held accountable to maintain a certain quality.

With changing technology over the passage of time, there is always a need to keep improving the standards. For example, in electronic products there needs to be improvement in terms of energy efficiency and safety, along with having a low environmental footprint.

A standard document is made by forming a committee with the involvement of industry experts, academicians and civil society members.

The document does not have any legal binding until and unless mandated under law, but standard documents are made in many technical fields to evolve a common procedure and maintain the quality of the product. It is also made to have expert opinions in improving that particular product.

In the context of the refrigeration and air conditioning sector (RAC), the Bureau of Indian standards (BIS) has a committee on refrigeration and air conditioning sectional committee which looks into refrigeration and air conditioning standards.

Currently, there is no existing standard document by the BIS which can address hydrocarbons that have a huge potential to replace hydrofluorocarbons (HFC). Negotiations are going on in the Montreal Protocol to phase out HFCs as they have a high Global warming potential (GWP).

The most commonly used refrigerants prior to 1930s were the natural ones—carbon dioxide, ammonia and hydrocarbons. But due to the limitations of technology at that time, the challenges associated with natural refrigerants such as flammability, pressure and toxicity could not be overcome.

So, the chemical industry came up with high-ODP (Ozone depletion potential) and high-GWP chlorinated fluorocarbon refrigerants to replace HFCs. But advances in refrigeration technology over the past few decades have brought natural refrigerants back into the mainstream.

Need to introduce new standard

All refrigerants are dangerous if misused or applied incorrectly. In the refrigerant and air-conditioning industry, there is a need to rework on standards with developing technology and with more efficient alternatives which have a low GWP.

Natural refrigerants like hydrocarbons with low GWP can break the chemical treadmill that is being followed in the industry currently.

It is important for a developing country like India to develop its own version of a standard as it will help the local industry stay independent and take the decision to move in the direction in the best interest of the industry and the environment.

When doing this, it is advisable to follow an equivalent international standard or a widely acknowledged national or regional (for instance European) standard.

Global standards applicable to refrigeration and air-conditioning come mainly from the International Standardisation Organisation (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), in addition to some of the regional and country-specific standards.

It is a common practice that international and regional standards are adopted at the regional and national levels. During this procedure, standards can be modified to suit the best local demands and conditions. Although the concerned IEC standard is under revision and India is a member of the ISO, we need to start the process of similar Indian standards as soon as possible as developing a India-specific standard requires significant technical resources, expertise and time.

Hydrocarbons have proved to be efficient refrigerant gases. They are currently being used in India, but the problem in scaling it up is the non-existence of a standard to address the concerns that are country specific.

The standard that is currently being followed by Godrej for hydrocarbon air conditioners in India is a European standard which limits the charge size of the air conditioner to 360 grams of hydrocarbon, thereby limiting the capacity of the air conditioner to under 1.5 tonnes.

To increase the capacity of the air conditioning, the charge size needs to be increased but without compromising on the safety of the equipment. So, a new standard needs to be designed for Indian conditions which can accommodate the country’s requirements of having a higher capacity and have use of the technology like leak detection sensors, safety valves and so on.

India has a range of unique concerns which the European standard does not address. One of the major issues is that India has very high temperatures in most regions and so needs higher-capacity air conditioning unlike European countries. Standards in Europe are based on room size which is a challenge to implement with practical problems like no regulation on installation.

The good news is that the concerns that exist have proven solutions with experiments conducted in labs which need to be discussed and the larger group of members made aware of.

To counter all these concerns having an Indian standard which can take the local requirements into account can be a game-changing solution. A standard needs to be designed which will address not only the safety concerns, but also stress on improving efficiency and providing scope for scaling up to accommodate requirements.

Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment is organising a workshop on “Addressing challenges in safety standards for hydrocarbon refrigerants in the RAC sector” on April 26‐27, 2016 to address some of the concerns and propose the way forward for creating a new standard.

Originally published in Down to Earth 

Negotiations on Montreal protocol one step closer to phasing out HFCs

Parties to the Montreal protocol negotiated in Geneva last week at the 37th Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG), with the intention of phasing down Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

The Montreal Protocol was mainly intended to negotiate Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) that cause damage to the ozone layer. ODS have been replaced by HFCs, which have a very high global warming potential (GWP). All parties met in Dubai last year and formed a contact group to discuss the phasing down of HFCs.

The first day of the conference began on a positive note. It discussed the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) report and primarily focused on the refrigeration and air conditioning sector. In its report, TEAP presented 80 different alternatives which have the potential of replacing HFCs. After the presentation, the parties requested TEAP to come up with a matrix which could help them compare different alternatives to HFCs and were mainly disappointed that cost implications and economic feasibility did not reflect in the report which would help them make a decision. The parties also had an opportunity to meet TEAP informally later in the week. TEAP has announced that it will rework the report and submit it along with the second report which is due to be submitted in Vienna in July.

Discussion on exemption for High Ambient temperature and intellectual property rights took centre stage for the next two days of the conference. After many bilateral discussions in backrooms, the US submitted a reworked proposal on exemption for High Ambient temperature countries which would qualify 34 countries to get the exemption if the proposal is passed in Extraordinary MOP in Vienna. Safety standards also stood out as a major concern for many parties.

Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) hosted a side event on “Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) impediments to an HFC phase down”. Based on the findings of a patent analysis done by commissioning a study to Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), CSE made a revolutionary suggestion to exclude the mobile air conditioning (MAC) from amendment to solve the IPR issue. The MAC sector only contributes between 10 to 15 per cent of emissions or tonnage of refrigerant gas but the IPR issue, which is very specific to it, has been blocking negotiations to go forward. And as there are natural alternatives available in every sector other than the MAC, CSE expressed concerns that this might lead to a delay or a weak HFC amendment, which would be detrimental. CSE, in its presentation suggested that the MAC sector could be excluded from the negotiations now and could be reviewed in a technical review process later when a natural alternative became available.

The last day of the negotiations under the Montreal protocol in Geneva ran late into the night just like the previous meeting in Dubai. After the initial announcement in the plenary in the morning, the whole day was suspended and meetings were held in the backrooms. The parties finally met officially in the contact group at 9 pm but could not come to a consensus on the text to be discussed. They, however, have come up with a working draft of informal group consulting on solutions for challenges on funding issues and flexibility of implementation and solutions on funding challenges. These documents are expected to carry forward the discussion in Vienna.

Overall, in this conference, progress has been made on High Ambient temperature exemption, funding and flexibility of implementation. But it was a disappointment that parties could not find solutions to all the challenges identified and come to a consensus on text and are yet to start discussing the amendment proposals put forward by various groups. The plenary was suspended and not concluded, leaving scope for the contact group to meet again before the next plenary meeting in Vienna.

Originally published in Down to Earth

Negotiations pick pace as US proposes amendment text on exempted countries

Parties to the Montreal Protocol finally started discussing the different challenges they face on the third day of talks at the 37th Open-ended Working Group in Geneva. 

The discussion extended late into the night with an extra session and covered challenges like finance, intellectual property rights (IPR), flexibility, exemptions, relationship with Hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFCs) phase-out, non-party trade provisions and legal aspects of moving HFCs from UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) to the Montreal Protocol. 

Most of the challenges had been identified and discussed in the Dubai meeting last year and a fierce debate was expected as parties had enough time to work on and present their concerns and possible solutions. 

After a number of informal closed door sessions with some countries, the US put forward a proposal by submitting an amendment text on High Ambient Temperature (HAT) countries for negotiation. This has been a long-standing demand of Middle Eastern countries as available technology is not suitable for or has not been tested for HAT countries. The amendment text proposed by the US uses the Centre for Environmental Data Archival (CEDA) to derive the daily highest temperatures. It allows exemption for 34 countries, mostly from the Middle East and Africa. The list of countries was strategically read out instead of being provided along with the amendment text. One would assume that India would make it to the list, but the country was not considered for HAT exemption because it does not satisfy all the parameters as per the data set chosen carefully. Although there were many models to define High Ambient Temperatures, the data sets were chosen so as to include some specific countries. 

The amendment text allows an exemption for Parties (countries) where an average of at least two months per year over 10 consecutive years witness a peak monthly average temperature of above 35°C. Multi-split air conditioners for commercial and residential purposes, split ducted air conditioners (residential and commercial) and ducted commercial packaged (self-contained) air conditioners were include in the list of exempted equipment which can use HFCs for four additional years even after the phase-down in HAT countries. 

IPR is another major impediment and India repeated its stand by saying that all expenses incurred for IPR should be paid by the multilateral fund of the protocol. But experts felt that the discussion was not as exhaustive as expected as IPR has always been described as a major impediment from the time the negotiations began. Many delegates and participants were surprised that the discussion was cut short and want it to be bought back to the table or discussed in informal meetings.

Originally published in Down to Earth

Montreal Protocol talks begin on a positive note in Geneva

Negotiations over phasing down hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) began as part of Montreal Protocol in Geneva on a slow but positive note.

According to experts, who have been part of such talks for years, feel that all the Parties have more or less agreed to discuss the important issue of how to reduce the use of HFCs. It is an achievement as there was a time when the Parties did not even talk about it.

It was expected that the HFC phase down negotiations will continue to discuss the challenges identified in the previous meeting held in Dubai last year where a contact group was formed on the feasibility and ways of managing HFCs.

Important topics

The first half of day 1 during the plenary session witnessed the passage of the agenda for the week which included:

• Presentation and discussion of the report by the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) over information on alternatives to ozone-depleting substances
• Resolving challenges by generating solutions on the feasibility of managing HFCs
• Discussing the amendment proposals submitted by Parties after the challenges were talked upon

After the presentation of the TEAP report on the proposed alternatives to HFCs, mainly in high ambient temperature countries, the Parties had various queries and comments.

Doubts on costs, feasibility

Most of the questions raised regarding the TEAP report were related to economic feasibility, cost implications, need for a user-friendly matrix to explain alternatives to HFCs, lack of energy efficiency as a parameter in choosing an alternative, assumptions on forecast and so on.

The TEAP will rework on the report based on the issues raised by the Parties and present a second report in the follow-up conference in Vienna in July.

Post lunch, many parties pointed out that the contact group should either discuss the challenges one by one in the order mentioned in Dubai or on a priority basis the next day.

Low-volume-consuming countries were specific about the need for capacity building and disposal mechanisms. India and China focused on issues such as intellectual property rights and employment opportunities. Columbia mentioned about the need for differential HFC phase down schedules between developing and developed nations. It also discussed about financial mechanisms as the reason for the success of the Protocol and the need to focus on strengths.

Most Parties agreed that the safety standards for refrigerant gases have gained prominence with natural refrigerants becoming a potential solution to escape the chain of chemical treadmill.

Some natural refrigerants have drawbacks such as toxicity, flammability and high pressure requirement to be favoured as replacements. With the advancement of technology, however, most past concerns have turned into opportunities.

Published Originally in Down to Earth

HFC Phase down negotiations to continue in Geneva

“The Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer” is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer. It was originally meant to phase out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion and not Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) which do not cause any harm to ozone. But HFCs have very high global warming potential (GWP) and were introduced as replacement for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) which are harmful for the ozone layer. So, most parties believe that it is the responsibility of the Montreal Protocol to phase down or phase out the HFCs as well.

In the Meeting of the Parties (MOP 27) in Dubai last year, a contact group was established on the feasibility and ways of managing Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) to negotiate the way forward. The outcome of the conference was termed as the Dubai pathway. A list of challenges was compiled and solutions provided for a few by the parties in Dubai.

The next meeting, which is the 37th Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG 37) of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol will be held in Geneva, Switzerland from April 4-8, 2016. It is expected that the meeting will continue to mainly discuss feasibility and ways of managing HFCs in the contact group. The remaining challenges that have been identified and not discussed by parties in Dubai in the contact group are expected to be discussed and resolved by generating solutions on the feasibility of managing HFCs.

The four amendment proposals to the Montreal Protocol made by various countries including India are also expected to be deliberated in detail only after all the challenges are discussed. Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), the only non-governmental organisation to have come up with a proposal to phase out HFCs, has suggested an equitable division of HFCs in its proposal as a way out to break the deadlock between the issues that the current proposals cover. The four amendment proposals put forward by parties to be discussed are:

• Joint proposal by US, Canada and Mexico (North American proposal)
• Joint proposal by Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia (Federated States of), Palau, Philippines, Samoa and Solomon Islands (the Micronesian or Island States Proposal)
• Proposal submitted by India (Indian proposal)
• The European Union proposal (European proposal)

Also expected is a discussion on the report from the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) on alternatives to ozone depleting substances (ODS). The report submitted primarily focuses on the refrigeration and air conditioning sector. A second report covering all the other major remaining sectors is expected to be submitted by TEAP in the Vienna meeting in July which will also address comments received in Geneva.

All the challenges and concerns by the parties and the proposals are expected to be negotiated in the series of conferences by the end of this year. And if a consensus is achieved by all the 196 countries who are parties on phasing down HFC, there is a potential to reducing more than 100 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent or up to 0.5 degrees Celsius by 2050.

Originally published in Down to Earth

Is the US on a bilateral agreement spree over climate change?

The White House released a U.S.-China Joint Presidential Statement on climate change on Thursday, marking a significant step in this direction.

It is interesting to note that the United States has also released a joint statement with Canada and signed bilateral agreements with Cuba and Argentina on the same issue.

As per the statement available on the White House website, the US and China have entered a bilateral pact to sign the Paris Agreement on April 22.

The heads of both the nations are also committed to work together as well as with other countries this year to achieve successful results in related multi-lateral fora, including an HFC amendment under the Montreal Protocol pursuant to the Dubai Pathway, and on a global market-based measure for addressing greenhouse gas emissions from international aviation.

Is the US serious?

A report, Capitan America, released by Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment before the Paris climate deal was hailed by the developing countries and ignored by the western media, experts said. The report had termed the US climate action plan “unambitious and inequitous”.

A leaked note released by a NGO called the Third World Network (TWN) to a limited audience urged developing countries not to “rush” to sign the Paris Agreement in New York in April.

The note also stated that developing countries should not rush into signing the Paris Agreement this year, as the COP 21 decision provides one year to all the Parties to do so from April 22, 2016 to April 21, 2017.

TWN has been facing a lot of flak for the leaked document. According to sources, it was misrepresented in the western media for urging developing nations to boycott the signing whereas it had only sounded a cautious note.

Prior to the deal signing, the US is on a bilateral signing spree with countries to make certain that it can push through its proposal on HFC amendment in the Montreal Protocol negotiations to begin in Geneva next week,experts feel.

It would be a great success if only the proposal put forward by the US on HFC amendment was equitable and addressed the concerns of the developing countries, experts feel. According to the analysis done by the CSE, the US proposal on HFC amendment to the Montreal Protocol is the most “inequitable” among the four proposals that have been submitted for discussion.

Instead of fulfilling their existing commitments and reworking on their proposal to accommodate the concerns of the developing countries, experts feel that the US is using pressure tactics and ignoring the voices of civil society organisations.

Published in Down to Earth on Friday 01 April 2016