During the last ASHRAE Winter meeting and AHR Expo, which took place on 6-8 February 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia, ASHRAE President Farooq Mehboob had a long meeting with Marco Buoni, Former President of AREA, with a mandate in International Affairs.

Several key topics, which are currently at the centre of the debate within the refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps sector, were discussed throughout an interview.

The questions tackled were:

  • Your presidential theme is ‘’leveraging relationships, knowledge and change; it is the formula to securing our future’’. In your opinion, what do we need to do to secure our future within our sector?
  • In Europe we aim for “Netzero” by 2050, with heating and cooling through heat pumps and A/C powered by PV systems (or any other renewable energy). Is the world ready for this step?
  • Is training of contractors and operators (end-users) an important missing link in our sector, which is normally focused on manufacturers and design engineers, and how can we improve it

Farooq will also participate as President in the 20th European Conference, taking place in Milan on 8-9 June 2023, jointly organised by United Nations Environment Programme UNEP OzonAction, the International Institute of Refrigeration IIF-IIR, the EU Association of RAC Contractors AREA and Centro Studi Galileo.

The full interview can be viewed here.