U.S. industry pleads for Kigali backing on HFCs

The United States Heating ventilation Air Conditioning Refrigeration (HVACR) industry has called on the incoming Trump administration to ratify the Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol in order to protect US manufacturing and employment.

In a letter to vice president-elect Mike Pence, dated January 6,2017 signed by the group chairman, Paul T. Stalknecht, the HVACR Industry Alliance, which represents 11 of the most influential US HVACR organisations, urges members of the Senate to align US policy with the direction US manufacturers are heading with regard to HFCs.

There has been speculation in the USA that incoming president Donald Trump might overturn the global HFC phase-down agreements that were led by the US.

If the Kigali agreement is not ratified, the HVACR Industry Alliance warns that US manufacturers’ goods would not be able to be sold in those countries that have approved the Kigali amendment, which would have a devastating impact on US manufacturing and employment.

The plea to ratify Kigali is one of a number of points in the Alliance’s plea to the incoming administration and includes a call for support for economic, tax, environmental, and energy policies “that increase global American competitiveness while simultaneously increasing economic growth and encouraging a balanced regulatory approach”.

The HVACR Industry Alliance represents 11 of the most influential US HVACR organisations, the HVACR Industry including ASHRAE, the AHRI , distributors group HARDI, the Refrigeration Service Engineers Society (RSES) and the Canadian Heating, Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Institute (HRAI).

“The Alliance has united behind these priorities, bringing together the wisdom of our individual associations,” said Paul T Stalknecht, HVACR Alliance chairman and president and CEO of ACCA, the Indoor Environmental & Energy Efficiency Association.

“While each association has its own priorities, I’m pleased we came together to present recommendations to the incoming administration about the pressing issues facing the entire HVACR Industry. Collectively, we are all dedicated to pushing for sensible policy that ultimately safeguards the commercial and residential consumers,” he added.

“HVACR and water heating equipment manufacturers have a long history of producing innovative, energy efficient products that make life better, safer, and more productive for Americans and people all over the world,” said Stephen Yurek, AHRI president and CEO. “The policy ideas advocated here by our industry will encourage a more realistic approach to tax policy and a more balanced approach to the regulatory process that, while important for manufacturers, has become costly for consumers and businesses and is badly in need of reform.”

“We believe that we have a unique opportunity as an industry to partner with the Trump Administration and Congress to enact policies that will not only help the HVACR industry grow today, but will allow us to invest in a workforce and technology that will carry us through the 21st century” said Talbot Gee, CEO of Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI). Gee added “The common sense policies advocated by the HVACR Alliance have enjoyed bipartisan support and will help businesses, large and small, innovate, grow, and provide valuable careers for countless workers.”

“With buildings responsible for 40 percent of all energy consumption in the United States, it is imperative that our industry strive to mitigate the impact of buildings on the environment,” ASHRAE president Tim Wentz said. “These policy priorities addressing economics, taxes, the environment, and energy will help continue to transform and support more energy efficient and sustainable buildings.”