IOR unveils priorities for net zero cooling

UK: With the government drawing up plans for a low-carbon response to help the economy, the Institute of Refrigeration has published a statement to deliver net zero cooling and heating. 

In Beyond Refrigeration, the IoR  has identified seven key areas to be addressed at a policy and practical level to achieve the changes post lockdown.

Insisting that cooling and heating will have a key role to play domestically, commercially and industrially, it highlights the seven key areas as: system performance, best technology, balancing heating and cooling, reducing the need for cooling, intelligent energy working together and people and skills.

“These key areas are designed to focus our thinking, our discussions and our activity,” said IoR president, Kevin Glass. “We want to engage with our members who have the expertise to make these changes happen, with other technical experts who will support decision making and with policy makers who can put in place legislative frameworks and mechanisms to create lasting and effective change.”

The IoR insists that cooling through refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump processes is essential to support the UK society and economy. And with demand for cooling growing rapidly, this raises some critical issues such as how policy makers can balance the growing demand for cooling with the need to reduce carbon emissions; where technologies and processes can be adapted to become a net zero industry; and what the sector should be doing to address the challenges?

“In some of the seven key areas we have identified, solutions are readily available awaiting adoption, in others they are still very much under development or in early stages of trialling and testing,” said IoR chief executive Miriam Rodway. “To make significant change happen we need to gain input from other sectors and to achieve a political will. The IoR wants to engage in a focused discussion in these areas to begin this process so that together, we can meet the cooling needs of our societies, using the least resources and with the least impact on the environment.”