International News
EU RECOVERY PLAN ,
GREEN DEAL AND NATURAL REFRIGERANTS
By Marco Portale , marketing manager HVAC EMEA region at Carel Controls
once in a lifetime opportunity for the HVAC industry .
A We are really at a turning point this time . In the past few months , the European Union ( EU ) leaders have agreed on a comprehensive package of more than EUR1 800-billion to relaunch the continental economy . It combines the over EUR1 070-billion Multiannual Financial Framework ( MFF ) and a EUR750- billion recovery effort called Next Generation EU .
Leaders have also agreed that 30 % of the total expenditure from the MFF and Next Generation EU would target climaterelated projects , and in terms of timing , pre-financing would be paid to member states upon request in 2021 , which means ‘ today ’. This is the greenest recovery plan the world has seen so far .
HOW WILL ALL THIS MONEY BE TRANSFERRED TO THE REAL ECONOMY AND CONSUMERS ’ LIVES ? The major programme of Next Generation EU ( named Recovery and Resilience Facility and accounting for 90 % of the total amount ), is made up of loans and grants distributed to EU member states , and in this case money will be given in light of green plans for “ investments and reforms ” in the applicant country . This budget will help transform the EU through its major policies , particularly the European Green Deal , the digital revolution and the resilience of national economies .
The European Green Deal consists of a set of measures that are related to several policy areas ( herein is a summary ), but at it ’ s heart , there is a challenge : to cut greenhouse gas emissions ( GHG ) by at least 55 % by 2030 , and thus the EU becoming the first climate-neutral continent (= net-zero GHG ) in the world by 2050 . Turning the continent ’ s climate neutrality from a political commitment into a legal obligation will be possible through the European Climate Law under discussion .
The HVACR industry is deeply involved in many of the policy areas affected by the European Green Deal and can significantly contribute to reaching the neutrality target .
If we now focus only on HVAC , we can mention at least two of the several possible contributions : enabling the replacement of fossil fuels from heating and cooling ( i . e . decarbonisation and electrification ) and accelerating the adoption of low or , even better , natural near-to-zero GWP gases into refrigerant circuits .
Regarding the former , according to 2018 figures from Eurostat , 75 % of heating and cooling in Europe is still generated from fossil fuels , while only 19 % is generated from renewable energy . To fulfil the EU ’ s climate and energy goals , the heating and cooling sector must sharply reduce its energy consumption and cut its use of fossil fuels .
The adoption of residential heat pumps instead of gas boilers has been booming in the past years with double digit CAGR ’ s and reaching the record of 1.45 million pieces in 2019 .
EU Heat Pump Association
Figure 1 : Heat pump market development in 21 EU countries
ResearchGate
Transforming the EU ’ s economy for a sustainable future .
Even in the socially and economically devastating 2020 , the heat pump market has shown enviable resilience , and expectations are even higher for the next few years , with the Heat Pump Energy
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RACA Journal I February 2021 www . hvacronline . co . za