Crises

A crisis (from the Greek κρίσις - krisis; plural: "crises"; adjectival form: "critical") is any event that is going (or is expected) to lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, community, or whole society. Crises are deemed to be negative changes in the security, economic, political, societal, or environmental affairs, especially when they occur abruptly, with little or no warning. More loosely, it is a term meaning "a testing time" or an "emergency event".

[Source: Wikipedia]

THE CORONA CRISIS

Our professionals, responsible for the design, installation, operation and maintenance of our building systems, can contribute to limit the infection risk due to airborne viruses and contaminated surfaces in buildings by using proper ventilation and cleaning strategies. A REHVA taskforce under leadership of Jarek Kurnitski, Chair of REHVA Technology and Research Committee, produced a REHVA COVID-19 Guidance Document: How to operate and use building services in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) virus (SARS-CoV-2) in workplaces. See page 55 and the REHVA Website https://www.rehva.eu/activities/covid-19-guidance.

In this Guidance Document, REHVA summarizes advice on the operation and use of building services in areas with a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 depending on HVAC or plumbing systems related factors. Read the advice as an interim guidance; the document may be complemented with new evidence and information when it becomes available. The given guidance is an addition to the general guidance for employers and building owners that is presented in the WHO document ‘Getting workplaces ready for COVID-19’. The Guidance Document is primarily intended for HVAC professionals and facility managers, but may be useful for e.g. occupational and public health specialists.

More crises to address: Many people state that there will be a difference between the time before and after this Corona crisis. This can be doubted as we have many other global challenges. Challenges that are for now silenced and impacted by this crisis but will emerge very soon again.

THE CLIMATE CRISIS

European Union leaders have agreed that the bloc’s coronavirus economic recovery plan should take heed of its aim to fight climate change. The 27 EU leaders agreed to coordinate a coronavirus economic recovery plan. Although the details of the plan itself still have to be worked out, a statement said they had agreed that it should be consistent with the “green transition”, the phrase the EU uses to describe the aim of reducing emissions that heat the planet. The EU’s executive commission wants its 27 member states to sign up at a summit in June to plans to make the entire bloc greenhouse gas neutral by 2050.

HVAC&R professionals are interactive at global level

We can learn and benefit from our professional around the globe. In the slipstream of these crises, some anti-global sentiments have been observed. However, threats due to the climate change and infectious diseases are global. They can only be addressed and solved at global level: new insights, vaccines and technical solutions to conquer these threats. As our REHVA Guidance Document reflects; prepared in cooperation with experts active at global level. REHVA’s involvement in the IEQ-GA (www.ieq-ga.net) reflects our global involvement. REHVA’s close cooperation with its MoU partner organisations around the globe demonstrate our proactive attitude to cooperate at global level where we have to find the solutions for our crises.