The ASHRAE 2024 International Building Decarbonization Conference, held from April 17 to 19 in Madrid, Spain, was an important event for professionals working in the built environment industry.
This conference, marking its third edition, aimed to address the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions from buildings and infrastructure, with a focus on sustainable practices and technologies. Participants had the opportunity to engage in discussions on various technical solutions and decarbonization strategies, ranging from heat pumps and refrigerants to smart systems and lifecycle carbon management. Social events including flamenco shows, wine tastings and tapas provided networking opportunities in a special Spanish setting.
REHVA President Dr. Catalin LUNGU and REHVA Vice President Dr. Pedro Vicente Quiles (representative of ATECYR, Spain) took part in the first round table “International Associations for the Advancement of Decarbonization Efforts”. Together with Ms. Ginger Scoggins (ASHRAE), Ms. Lakisha Woods (American Institute of Architects) and Ms. Julie Godefroy (Net Zero Policy Leader, CIBSE), they presented on REHVA and ATECYR's work related to building decarbonization. They also answered questions about why achieving decarbonization is important to their members and how greater industry collaboration can accelerate decarbonization planning and progress.
The second day of the conference, REHVA Vice President Risto Kosonen attended the round table “Future Energy is Now”. In discussions there was for example. raised questions about the role of heat pumps in buildings, and discussed energy communities and new business models that use energy as a service.
