Sami Zheng, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating (AIRAH), reflects on a tumultuous few months in global politics and what they could mean for Australia’s sustainability goals.
For those of you who are not familiar with AIRAH, we’re a member organisation and the peak representative body for the Australian HVAC&R building services industry. Our members range from refrigeration and air conditioning technicians (affectionately known as “fridgies”) to mechanical engineers and experts in fields like indoor air quality, infection control, electrification, building physics, big data, and system commissioning.
We’re aware that our industry is essential for the functioning of modern life as we know it, but we also know that it has a significant impact on the health of the planet. According to the World Green Building Council, the built environment is responsible for 39 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, with heating and cooling responsible for the bulk of that energy use.
That’s why, since the turn of this century, one of AIRAH’s primary focuses has been improving sustainability in the Australian HVAC&R industry. We promote the use of refrigerants with low environmental impact, as well as smart design and technologies like heat pumps that reduce the energy required for heating and cooling.
We’re lucky to have great support from within the Australian HVAC&R industry. But with the global political order experiencing upheaval, can we count on similar support from the political sphere in the future?
Deregulation frenzy
While Donald Trump’s recent imposition of widespread tariffs has stolen global headlines, a much more serious development has gone largely unnoticed. A few days before I wrote this article, the USA’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced plans to repeal several key environmental regulations.
These include caps on CO2 emissions from power plants, classifications of greenhouse gases as harmful to public health, and regulations encouraging the uptake of electric vehicles.
The success of these repeals remains uncertain, but the concern is that the EPA’s stance appears to be shifting away from its core mission of protecting the environment. While there is no immediate indication of similar rollbacks in Australia, history has shown that policy shifts in the United States can influence Australian discourse – we have already heard rumblings, for example, about freezing energy efficiency provisions in the National Construction Code. The potential rise of climate scepticism could hinder progress on sustainability initiatives, making it crucial for industries to lead by example rather than wait for government directives.
Unconditional leadership
My lesson from this is that leadership from organisations such as AIRAH and Pump Industry Australia is more important than ever. We can’t rely on governments to set the tone; we must promote best practices to our members.
After all, they’re in the best position to understand the issues affecting sustainability in our industries, how to address them, and why doing so is vital.
We must push harder than ever to promote sustainable practices within our industries, regardless of what’s happening around us. Our planet is counting on us.
For more information about AIRAH, go to airah.org.au
