ASHRAE to participate in international climate convention

Store Equipment & Design, March, 2000

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHBAE) has been granted preliminary approval to attend meetings of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Control. The convention is the centerpiece of global efforts to combat global warming. Adopted in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit, the convention comprises more than 170 world states.

Participating in this convention will allow ASHRAE to strengthen its involvement in the global community by monitoring and providing guidance in mitigating climate change. ASHRAE representatives could attend the Kyoto Protocol meeting, scheduled for June 5-16 in Bonn, Germany. ASHRAE's most recent activity in climate concerns was adoption of a climate change position statement and paper at its 1999 annual meeting. The statement and paper commit the society to adopting several initiatives, including taking a leadership role in promoting the use of lifecycle, environmental and economic impact assessments in building design and operation.