Author: Brad Kivlan

Chinese Fines for Environmental Violations up 48% Jan-Oct of 2017

In an article written by David Stanway; edited by Richard Pullin for Reuters: 

 From January through October of 2017, Chinese firms accused of violating environmental regulations paid fines totaling 1.02 billion yuan. That’s up 48% from last year. As part of a campaign to protect the environment, China has promised zero tolerance for firms guilty of offences such as illegally dumping waste, exceeding mandatory emissions caps or tampering with monitoring equipment.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) said in a notice on Wednesday that 32,227 cases had been handled in the first 10 months of the year, more than double last year. The number of “administrative detentions”, where an official or executive is detained for continuing to violate regulations, jumped 161 percent to 7,093 cases.
With enforcement long seen as a weak link, the government has been at pains to show it is beefing up its supervision and punishment capabilities, and it has established task forces and real-time monitoring systems to help crack down on polluters.
This has been a driver of supply shortages coming from China as plants shutdown to make changes to production processes so they can meet environmental regulations.
Read full article, click here.

 

 

 

 

Dynatemp Submits Comments to CARB Regarding HFC Bans

Recently, Dynatemp International sent comments to CARB, the California Air Resources Board, regarding the news of enhancements and updates to the Assembly Bill No. 32. “Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006” and also Senate Bill 1383.

Our main points are numbered below:

1.)  No state regulation should supersede proposed Kigali amendment or SNAP’s authority.  It creates a fractured regulatory environment for industry.  We prefer a reserved regulatory environment which defers to global preferences first.

2.)  The use of incentives will have a stronger realization to reduction of high-GWP use because it will encourage reclamation and recycling.  We do not support any sales ban.

3.)  Codes and standards need to be in place first before a sales ban, not the other way around.
To see full letter, click here. 

Beginning 1/1/18 Changes Come Regarding Section 608

There are many changes coming starting January 1, 2018 regarding Section 608 of the Clean Air Act. Some of the top changes are listed below:

1. You must be a Section 608 certified technician to purchase HFC refrigerant.

2. Refrigerant distributors may only sell HFC refrigerants to certified technicians and must maintain records for those sales.

3. You must be a Section 608 certified technician to open HFC appliances.

 4. Certifying organizations must post a list of new technicians certified after 1/1/17 (Starting 1/1/18).
To read all changes, Click Here. 

The Kigali Amendment Met it’s 20-country Ratification Threshold

In an article written by, Andrew Williams, of R744.com 

The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on phasing down HFCs will enter into force on 1 January 2019 after surpassing the required ratification threshold.

The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, a landmark international agreement to phase down the production and use of HFCs, is poised to enter into force after it was ratified by Sweden and Trinidad & Tobago yesterday. That meets the threshold for the treaty to come into effect on the earliest possible date: 1 January 2019.

The Kigali deal stipulated that the treaty would enter into force on 1 January 2019 provided it had been ratified by at least 20 parties to the Montreal Protocol. Sweden and Trinidad & Tobago bring the deal over that threshold following formal ratification by six other countries earlier this week: Finland, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos), Luxembourg, the Maldives, Slovakia and the United Kingdom. Canada ratified the Kigali Amendment on 3 November.

To read the full article, Click Here.