Page 6 - Climate Control News May 2021
P. 6

                  News
  China and US
finally commit to Kigali
Both nations also agreed to help developing countries finance a switch to low-carbon energy. At the same time both countries have indicat- ed they will accept the Kigali Amendment to the
Montreal Protocol to phase down HFCs. President Joe Biden has made it clear that the United States will become a signatory to the amendment while the Chinese president Xi Jin- ping announced China’s willingness to phase down HFCs in a video summit with French pres-
ident Emmanuel Macron.
According to reports by the Xinhua News
Agency, the official Chinese state-run press agency, Xi Jinping said: “Responding to climate change is the common cause of all mankind and should not be a bargaining chip for geopolitics, a target for attacking other countries, or an excuse for trade barriers.”
He went on to say: “It is hoped that developed economies will set an example in reducing emis- sions and take the lead in fulfilling their climate funding commitments, so as to provide adequate technical and capacity building support for de- veloping countries to address climate change.”
Under the Kigali Amendment, countries agree to cut the production and consumption of HFCs by more than 80 per cent over the next 30 years.
Industry groups have also taken action with the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) petitioning the US Environ- mental Protection Authority (EPA).
For the full story turn to page 14.
This is a major turnaround by the world’s biggest economies.
 CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES ARE COMMITTED TO WORKING TOGETHER TO TACKLE THE CLIMATE CRISIS.
IN A JOINT statement, the two countries have agreed to reduce emissions and to keep the Paris Agreement “within reach”.
"The United States and China are committed to cooperating with each other and with other countries to tackle the climate crisis, which must be addressed with the seriousness and ur- gency that it demands,” the statement said.
   APEC: Cold chain call to arms
AUSTRALIAN FOOD COLD Chain Council (AFCCC) chair, Mark Mitchell, called on indus- try across the Asia Pacific last month to take action to reduce waste.
In a call to arms at the Asia Pacific Economic Co- operation (APEC) Forum, Mitchell said food waste has reached mammoth proportions globally.
“It is time to make better use of existing tech- nologies to build a robust and compliant cold chain,” he said.
Mitchell told international delegates that only a compliant cold chain had a chance of de- livering consistent food quality and reducing food loss and waste.
Food waste in Australia alone is valued at $A3.8 billion at farm gate prices, and on top of that, there are huge impacts of poor temperature control in the cold chain that leads to reduced shelf life.
“While product traceability cov- ering location and time might be okay for non-refrigerated consumer
goods, it is not enough for food,” Mitchell said. “Product temperature monitoring must be continuous – a confirmation of tempera- ture only at the end point of the chain is not
good enough.
“Technology and automatic systems for
monitoring temperature throughout the whole journey are available, but under-utilised in the food industry.”
His message for cold chain practitioners who want to be part of a compliant cold chain, was to become verifiers in cold chain processes that allow measurement of temperature at all points, with the data handed over during the
delivery of goods.
A 2020 study funded by Australia's
Environment Department and Re- frigerants Australia found three are- as that were crying out for improve- ment – better food handling, such as reducing the time food spends out- side refrigerated environments dur- ing transfer and more accurate
measurement of food temperatures; increased use of tracking/tracing technologies; and im- proved ‘chain of custody’ documentation en- suring shared responsibilities for maintaining food quality.
RIGHT: Food waste has become a global crisis.
LEFT: AFCCC chair, Mark Mitchell,
has called for immediate
action.
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