The French Climate Plan

This summer, the French Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development presented the Climate Plan: the government's action plan to address, by 2010, the major challenge of climate change. It involves measures encompassing all sectors of the economy and everyday life in order to save 54 million tonnes equivalent CO2 (MteCO2) per year. One of the orientations of the plan relates to sustainable air conditioning, since, thanks to the numerous benefits they provide, air-conditioning systems are undergoing a period of strong growth. However, they may raise the issues of energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions. This action aims to "improve information, set up good practice, make sure that the state sets the example, and introduce European regulations for controlling air conditioners to promote reasonable and rational use of air conditioning and to limit greenhouse-gas emissions, allowing reductions, by 2010, of 10.2 MteCO2". Source: Plan Climat 2004, Ministère de l'Ecologie et du Développement Durable. For more details, consult the IIR Web site (News/Regulations-Standardization column)