ASHRAE is pleased to support the U.S. Senate’s bipartisan ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, paving the way for a swift global phasedown of high global warming potential (GWP) hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a large driver of climate change, by 2050. The phasedown could prevent a half-degree Celsius of warming by the end of the century.
“The built environment community represents a major component of the Kigali Amendment and the implementation of successful worldwide climate action strategies,” said 2022-23 ASHRAE President Farooq Mehboob, Fellow Life Member. “ASHRAE is pleased to support this important treaty and will continue to engage with global partners to support the adoption of climate-friendly technical solutions to improve building sustainability and reduce climate impacts for generations to come.”
The amendment was ratified with a 69-27 vote.
The Biden Administration committed to ratify the Kigali Amendment in April 2021 and it was transmitted to the Senate for ratification consideration on November 16, 2021 and advanced out of the Foreign Relations Committee early in the summer of 2022.
ASHRAE Standards 15 and 34 were designed to provide essential guidance to protect people and property, and provide a uniform system for assigning reference numbers, safety classifications and refrigerant concentration limits to refrigerants:
- ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 15-2019, Safety Standard for Refrigeration Systems establishes procedures for operating equipment and systems associated with refrigerants
- ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 34-2019, Safety Classification of Refrigerants provides shorthand nomenclature and assigned safety classes based on toxicity and flammability
