Climate-friendly cooling can slow global warming
The ironies of climate change are often cruel. In our warming world, for example, the demand for air conditioning (AC) and refrigeration is exploding, especially in developing countries. But more AC units lead to more warming, both from the refrigerant chemicals they contain and the electricity they use.
Globally, cooling can account for up to half of peak electricity demand during the hot season, which is getting longer and longer.
But the transition to energy-efficient, climate-friendly cooling — using refrigerants that pose a lower global-warming threat — is technically and economically feasible, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), based on data gathered by a team we co-chaired.
Adopting the best currently available technologies for both refrigerants and energy efficiency could eliminate the equivalent of up to 460 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions by 2060, an amount equal to eight years of global greenhouse-gas emissions. By 2030, emissions equal to those of nearly 1,600 medium-sized peak power plants would be avoided.
Eliminating the “super pollutant” refrigerants known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) is critical, as is increasing the energy efficiency of cooling equipment. Otherwise, emissions from this sector alone could use up the remaining “carbon budget” for capping global warming at the “safe” threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius relative to pre-industrial times.
Here, the world’s most successful environmental treaty, the Montreal Protocol, is a source of inspiration. The protocol, which was concluded in 1987 and entered into force in 1989, successfully addressed the first great threat to the global atmosphere: that chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants and related gases were destroying Earth’s protective ozone layer.
At the same time, the Montreal Protocol has done more to reduce the climate threat than any other agreement — avoiding warming by an amount equivalent to that caused by all the carbon dioxide emitted in the twentieth century, which is more than half of all warming.
These fluorinated gases are also powerful greenhouse gases — or climate super pollutants — with thousands of times more warming power per molecule than CO2. By eliminating them, the Montreal Protocol not only put the ozone layer on the path to recovery, but also significantly slowed the development of the climate crisis.
The Montreal Protocol’s most recent mandatory measure is the 2016 Kigali Amendment, which aims to phase out HFCs, used primarily as refrigerants, and avoid up to 0.5 degrees of warming by 2100. The amendment’s initial schedule ensures that about 90% of this target will be reached.
With the Kigali Amendment, the nearly 200 parties to the Montreal Protocol (including every UN member) also recognised the importance of improving the energy efficiency of AC units and other cooling equipment during the switch from HFCs to more climate-friendly refrigerants.
Efficiency gains can more than double the Kigali Amendment’s climate benefits by mid-century, while reducing energy generation and transmission costs by nearly US$3 trillion. They will also reduce consumers’ monthly electricity bills, create jobs for installation and maintenance staff, and, by reducing air pollution, protect public health and agricultural productivity.
The UNEP-IEA report highlights 10 policies that would help to realise these benefits. They include universal ratification of the Kigali Amendment (the milestone of 100 countries was reached in July of this year), national cooling action plans, proven measures such as minimum energy-performance standards and building codes, and aggregating demand for sustainable cooling through buyers’ clubs and bulk procurement.
The development of sustainable cold chains would reduce food loss. It is also worth noting, in light of the Covid-19 challenge we now face, that it would ensure effective vaccine dissemination.
Improving service and maintenance of cooling equipment is also essential, as is preventing inefficient AC units from being dumped in developing countries.
The enormous growth in cooling demand means we must act quickly. Today, an estimated 3.6 billion air conditioners, refrigerators and related appliances are used worldwide; to meet the world’s cooling needs. That number will more than triple, to 14 billion units, by 2050.
Access to cooling is already becoming a leading climate and social justice issue around the world — especially in the many Asian, African and South American countries that are subject to increasingly unlivable temperatures and already suffer from poverty, water shortages and related problems.
For example, only about 7-9% of Indian households have access to AC today, compared to 60% in China and 90% in the United States. In India alone, demand for AC will grow by more than a billion units over the coming decades. During this time, making cooling less polluting will be critical. Decreasing the cost, as India has done through its innovative bulk procurement programme, will also be beneficial.
We should all take courage from the Montreal Protocol’s success in repairing the ozone layer and mitigating more warming from greenhouse gases than any other measure. All countries must now adopt common-sense initiatives to make cooling more efficient, less emissions-intensive and more affordable for consumers.
Most urgently, we must heed the latest understanding of the planet’s sensitivity to continuing emissions and recognise that without rapid action, runaway climate change will be far harder to prevent.
Durwood Zaelke is the president of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development. Mario Molina, a 1995 Nobel laureate in chemistry, is a professor at the University of California. ©Project Syndicate, 2020, www.project-syndicate.org
Access to cooling is becoming a leading climate and social justice issue around the world — especially in the many countries that are subject to increasingly unlivable temperatures