Due to the damage done to our climate, the EU is phasing out the use of what are known as F-gases – commonly used in air-conditioning units and the refrigerators and cooling cabinets in supermarkets – to replace them with low-emissions refrigerants by 2030. But today (23 July), a major industry group in Spain representing […]
Meeting the Climate Crisis Head-on This year, 2026, marks an important milestone for the Montreal Protocol. In October, Parties will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Kigali Amendment, the moment which saw the ozone treaty turn decisively to face the climate threat posed by hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). As we approach the Kigali celebrations, the 48th meeting […]
The UK is warming faster than the global average and is increasingly exposed to dangerous heat. More frequent and intense heatwaves are already causing thousands of excess deaths each year, while overheating affects a growing proportion of homes, workplaces and public buildings. As the Climate Change Committee’s Fourth Independent Assessment of UK Climate Risk makes […]
Cooling technologies are vital for a functioning society – refrigeration for food and medicine, air-conditioning to adapt to a warming planet and heat pumps for decarbonised heating. But the refrigerants inside these technologies can exacerbate climate change, some of them hundreds or thousands times worse than carbon dioxide over a short time frame. Fortunately, there […]
This year the Montreal Protocol community marks a decade since the adoption of the Kigali Amendment. The 10-year Kigali anniversary is a significant milestone, but comes at a time of accelerating climate breakdown, ongoing threats to ozone layer recovery and a wider weakening in multilateral cooperation. As the Executive Committee (ExCom) convenes for its 98th […]
The UK is this week in the midst of yet another unseasonal heatwave – and with global temperatures rising every year, it’s only going to get worse. Many people around the world are turning to air-conditioning to find some relief from the heat, but air-conditioning is itself a part of the problem as it also […]