I am really glad that there are people from our professional bodies and trade associations looking into the detail of the F-Gas review. Not just the F-gas review, but every piece of legislation that affects our industry.

Some very knowledgeable people devote a lot of time and energy on the industry's behalf trying to influence the content and specific wording where possible of the regulations that are imposed upon us. 'The devil is in the detail' they say as they continue the struggle to lobby the various government departments and put forward our case.

Thank heavens someone is doing it. It is painstaking but important work. However, one can't help but feel that all this effort, and it really is a lot of effort, is potentially being wasted. Some cynics might even say their effort is misguided.

Are the battles they are fighting the right ones? Policies are made my politicians and need a political solution. Arguing an even well-founded technical case for review is only part of the battle and sadly, may on its own be worthless when it falls upon deaf ears.

F-Gas, Part L, PED, etc, are all aimed at changing our behaviour, but behaviour is not changed simply by selecting the most appropriate words to use, or even seeking compromise in the approach. For example would it really change the speed we drive at if the speed limit on the motorway was changed to 71 mph or 69 mph when there is no risk of being caught by speed cameras or traffic police? Does a limit of 3kg or 1 kg make any difference, or even not having a lower refrigerant charge limit if the F-Gas regulations are not policed? Does it matter if an air-conditioning system is 12 kW, 3 kW or 300 kW if inspections are not even taking place? Yes, the devil is in the detail, but perhaps we need to look outside the actually wording of any review to find it.

It is sometime since I told a Nasreddin story here. Readers of my older blogs will recall that I have a fondness for the tales of Nasreddin, the old mullah. He's a legendary figure who the Greeks, Turks and Persians all claim for themselves. He would give his mystical teachings in the form of stories, generally funny stories, and the butt of the story was always old Nasreddin himself.

One night, Nasreddin was on his hands and knees searching for his door key under a street lamp. Some of his neighbours came to see why Nasreddin was on his hands and knees.

"What are you looking for, Nasreddin?" enquired one of the neighbours. "My door key", came the reply.

The helpful neighbours all dropped to their hands and knees and joined Nasrudin in his search for the lost key.

After a long unsuccessful search, one of the neighbours asked: "We've looked everywhere. Are you sure you dropped it here?"

Nasreddin answered: "Of course I didn't drop it here, I dropped it outside my door."

"Then, why are you looking for it here!"

"Because there's more light here," responded Nasreddin

I don't think we will find the key to lowering refrigerant emissions or to improved energy efficiency through legislation alone. As engineers we naturally look to the technical content for the solution. Change is possible, just ask the demonstrators from Tahrir square. However, we need to search for it in the right place.