An important step forward for the future ISO 14067

The Working Group (ISO/TC 207/SC7/WG8) called to upgrade the technical specification ISO/TS 14067 in an international standard, has decided to take a major step forward, last Friday in Angers, France, at the end of an intense week of work. Having discussed and solved all of the more than 530 comments received, the WG8 asked to raise the second draft of the Working Draft (WD2) in the first official document (CD) that has to circulate through all national standard bodies for balloting. The period of voting for the CD is expected from mid-March to mid-May, in order to be re-discussed in occasion of the ISO/TC 207  Plenary Meeting in Halifax, Canada, from June 12th to 16h. "The WG8 worked in an extremely effective and constructive way, with a full spirit of collaboration throughout the whole week" said the Convenor Daniele Pernigotti "proving to be fully aware of the importance that a standard on the CFP have in contributing to a drastic GHG emissions worldwide, expected in the next years. The balanced participation between developed and developing countries is a confirmation of the global interest for the topic. But It is no secret the existence of political pressure at international level, opposing in principle the development of a CFP standard, that may hinder its publication. ISO is a technical standard body, deputed to develop voluntary documents, reliable and internationally recognised. The political negotiation arenas on climate change are others and it is important not to confuse the two levels and their respective purposes. Progresses at the base of CD are remarkable and supported by the strong consensus of all the experts of the WG8. The balloting of the coming months is therefore an important signal to understand the real will of the Member States to achieve the publication of a CFP standard. Otherwise, we should resign to continue using the current ISO/TS 14067, that still combines the requirements for CFP quantification with those for its communication.