Glasgow: The UN-led Cool Coalition has announced a series of steps to reduce the climate impact of the cooling industry, including a 12 million pound boost from the UK government, the host of COP26.
Just 1.5C of global warming, a temperature limit the world currently looks set to far exceed could leave 2.3 billon people vulnerable to heatwaves.
Cooling will be essential to protect human health and productivity under such circumstances - but 7 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions come from cooling already.
"The need for cooling in our daily lives -- to protect people against heat extremes -- will grow. But the way we cool our homes and workplaces is a major driver of climate change. Today, around 10 per cent of the world's electricity is used for air conditioning. If left unchecked, emissions related to cooling are expected to double by 2030, driven by heat waves, population growth, urbanization and the demands of a growing middle class," said Inger Andersen, UNEP Executive Director.
A transition to efficient and climate-friendly cooling, including natural solutions, could allow the expansion of cooling and avoid 4-8 years of global emissions. This includes work under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol to replace climate-warming gases, known as hydrofluorocarbons, that are used as refrigerant gases.
Peter Goldsmith of Richmond Park, Minister for Pacific and the Environment at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), said, "I am delighted that we have announced GBP 12 million of Defra Official Development Assistance programming today to provide valuable assistance to developing countries, enabling them to make rapid progress on reducing hydrofluorocarbons and adopting energy efficient cooling solutions.
"This funding will support vital work to address inefficient cooling technologies and help develop a resilient and sustainable food supply chain in Africa, delivering the first African centre of excellence for rural cooling and cold chain."
In support of these commitments, an unprecedented surge of implementation will fill 2022 and beyond. These implementation efforts will go a long way in turning commitments into emissions reduction and increase resilience.
"Cooling is becoming increasingly critical to strengthen our resilience to a warming world. National, local and business commitments to reducing emissions urgently need to translate into implementation that can keep the world cool and achieve net zero in time," said Nigel Topping, COP26 High Level Climate Champion.
