Policy Updates

<p>The European Commission and the Consortium presented the first Task reports of the Working Plan 2020-2024 The Working Plan 2020-2024 will act as a bridge for future ‘sustainable product policy initiative’. It may be noted that the Commission has told DG GROW to be ready with a ‘suitable working plan’ by October in case it would be needed.</p>

<p>On 8 July 2020, the European Commission published its EU Strategy for Energy System Integration. The Strategy identifies heat pumps as one the key technologies for achieving its aims. In 2021, the European Commission will review the Energy Efficiency Directive, the Renewable Energy Directive, the Energy Taxation Directive, and consider the extension of the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS) to new sectors in order to boost the deployment of heat pumps and district heating and cooling systems.</p>

<p>National authorities of five countries (Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Denmark) invite interested parties to send in evidence and information on the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The call for evidence request includes producers, suppliers and distributors. The survey is very broad, covering a wide range of substances and polymers, with the deadline on 31 July 2020.</p>

<p>The sensitivity of the connectivity of appliances and equipment to cyberattacks has been mentioned in various meetings and seminars. The European Union has established a European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) that has been looking at this issue for over 20 years, initially focussing on the financial sectors. Since last year it has been drawing up cybersecurity certification schemes. How much these schemes will extend to HVACR equipment is not yet known.</p>

<p>On a monthly basis, the Eurovent Team compiles a global overview of the latest developments concerning new standardisation activities and technical regulations of relevance for the HVACR industry. Our Notifications allow members to be prepared for developments that can have an impact on them and their products.</p>

<p>The CEN-CENELEC Boards meet at regular intervals. In the GEN document below, Eurovent members can read the abstracts of the main outcomes of crosscutting nature discussed in the single-BT and common meetings, as well as of the latest decisions of transversal nature that are relevant to Eurovent.</p>

<p>The consortium in charge of the preparatory study for the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Working Plan 2020-2024 has published draft reports for Task 2 and Task 3 ahead of the stakeholder meeting scheduled for 10 July 2020. The reports deal with the identification and preliminary analysis of product groups and horizontal measures to be considered for inclusion in the Working Plan. Air curtains were included in Task 3. In terms of horizontal measures, circular economy aspects were included.</p>

<p>The General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC (GPSD) protects consumers by ensuring that only safe goods are sold on the EU market. The European Commission is preparing a review of the GPSD that may result in a proposal for revision by the second quarter of 2021. Feedback on the roadmap evaluation is open until 1 September 2020. The public consultation questionnaire runs in parallel until 6 October 2020.</p>

<p>Regulation (EU) 2020/852 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment (the so-called Taxonomy Regulation) was officially published. The aim of the Taxonomy Regulation is to boost investment in green projects by setting common definitions across the EU for what investments may be considered ‘green’. Select projects in the HVACR and building sectors will qualify if they meet the technical screening criteria, which are to be defined in delegated acts.</p>

<p>Fluorinated greenhouse gases are used in particular in refrigeration and air conditioning. Emissions from such gases contribute to climate change. In 2014, the EU made new strict rules that will reduce EU emissions significantly. In the light of the European Green Deal and Climate Law, recent international obligations under the Montreal Protocol, technical progress and lessons learned during the implementation, the European Commission is now preparing a review of the F-Gas Regulation that may result in a proposal for revision by the end of 2021.</p>

<p>Many authorities and associations are publishing guidance documents on how to operate and maintain HVAC systems considering the COVID-19 pandemic. These guidance documents are updated at irregular intervals. An analysis of a selection of these guidance documents shows inconsistencies between them, but also a common core of recommendations: to increase ventilation rates, extend operating times, and limit recirculation.</p>

<p>After two events outside Europe (2017 USA, 2019 China), the 11th International Conference on Energy Efficiency in Domestic Appliances and Lighting (EEDAL) conference returns to Europe in 2021. In 2021, EEDAL will be organised jointly with the International Symposium on Science and Technology of Lighting and will take place from 8 to 10 November in Toulouse, France.</p>