You may recall last month that I drew some comparisons between the work that was going on in Europe and the U.S. over getting to grips with high-GWP refrigerants. At the time, I praised the U.S. for the recent actions on cooling — both the government and agencies for "wielding the stick" in hastening the moves toward lower GWP, and the cooling industry for committing some serious investment to low-GWP projects.

You will perhaps not be surprised to hear that shortly afterward I came under fire from some corners of the European cooling industry for underplaying the contribution that the industry over here is making, both to innovation and to educating the customers.

I hold my hands up: I was being a tad provocative in a bid to convey to the European folk what could be achieved if there were a bit more teeth to our cooling policies.

A number of manufacturers and contractors in Europe have really done a tremendous amount to develop the technology of natural refrigeration, and more recently of other low-GWP refrigerants such as HFOs and R32. So we should pay due respect for laying the groundwork for what will one day be a global infrastructure in low-GWP cooling — hopefully one day soon.

This week's announcement of "enhanced cooperation" between the United States and China over HFC phasedown must signal that there is a will to get on with things in the less-developed nations, and a commitment to help them, too.

The current momentum in the U.S. with regard to low GWP could be beneficial for the European leaders of the technology. If the U.S. cooling industry is required to step up moves toward natural refrigeration, I could see great benefits from the input of those European innovators. It could, potentially, be a real opportunity for U.S.-European technology cooperation — with the end goal of reducing carbon emissions.

I know there are certainly a few European firms that believe they can help their American cousins, but I guess they need U.S. firms to seek the input. The history of cooling has tended to see the two continents develop their own separate infrastructures and solutions, but perhaps HFC phasedown could usher in a new transatlantic accord.

That's a bit of a big wish, but here is an example of one way in which the European cooling industry is pledging to help move development onward.

The European Partnership for Energy and the Environment (EPEE) is the biggest association for cooling suppliers in Europe, and its members contribute 30 billion euro in the cooling industry. EPEE has responded to the challenge from UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to bring industry pledges to the recent UN global meeting on climate change with its own pledge document. EPEE's pledge is to see the aims of the F-gas regulations borne out in practice, or as it puts it, "making the rules work."

What is interesting is that clearly the body is looking to be proactive in ensuring national cooling industries understand the direction of travel.

"Our industry is strongly committed to making the EU F-gas rules work," the EPEE pledge states. "We will take concrete, proactive action to facilitate their implementation in order to help the EU and its member states reach their targets and remain a leader in the reduction of GHG emissions."

In the context of the F-gas regulations, EPEE supports the legislation, but makes it clear that compliance is the key area. In the pledge, EPEE aims to tackle two key areas:

• Education: Raising awareness and promoting the rules
• Tackling barriers: Supporting a smooth and viable transition toward lower emissions technologies

The education commitment will see EPEE developing a regular program of awareness-raising events throughout the whole supply chain "and, where possible, will always involve those authorities that are responsible for ensuring compliance and control."

It also promises "specific communication tools to enhance the industry's understanding of its new obligations and responsibilities ... to explain in layman's terms the most complex provisions of the legislation." This will see EPEE seeking collaboration with end users of the equipment as well as colleges with, the group says, the aim of ensuring "that all players across the industrial chain understand the significance of the new rules and the value and obligations of their role in tackling HFC emissions."

But EPEE also proposes more direct action as part of its "breaking down barriers" pledge. The group plans to establish a Low Emissions Task Force in a bid to overcome the barriers to the uptake of lower emissions technologies and promising to cooperate with the relevant public authorities in order to achieve this. Within this task force, EPEE will also examine existing technologies and aim to enhance industry's understanding of containment, reclaim, recovery and recycling practices, it says.

Along with this, EPEE pledges to support governments with regular data and studies on the evolving market. On the international stage, it says it will also raise awareness of the EU rules, in a bid to progress the global negotiations on HFCs.

EPEE ends its document by saying: "With this pledge, our industry commits to being an active and supportive industry player. Our activities can help the EU retain its environmental leadership and tackle the global warming impact of HFC emissions."

But again the big question in Europe surrounds compliance and what the industry can do to help the rules are enforced. When it comes to the compliance part, EPEE is pretty forthright: "The EU cannot be a credible leader if the rules do not work. Compliance remains a key challenge in Europe, and noncompliance can seriously undermine the EU's environmental ambitions."

But the key of course, is whether EPEE and the industry manage to persuade the EU and/or national governments to do something concrete about it.