Heating up our planet by cooling down our lives

Demand for cooling and air conditioning units is rising sharply.

The excessive use of ozone-depleting substances (ODS) and climate-damaging hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are found in existing and old cooling equipment, insulation foam or cylinders, has led to the accumulation of large ODS and HFC banks globally.

When old cooling devices are not maintained and disposed of in an environmentally friendly way, the legacy ODS and HFC banks’ release emissions freely into the atmosphere.

Based on current policies, between now and 2050 the installed capacity of cooling equipment globally will almost triple. According to the Global Cooling Watch, the electricity consumption will double and an estimated 6.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) will be emitted in 2050.

It is a vicious cycle as the global climate is getting hotter, more cooling is becoming necessary, as it plays a vital role in safeguarding quality of life. Its relevance goes beyond the domestic cooling with refrigerators or air conditioners but is also relevant in guaranteeing food safety and plays a key role within the health sector, for example in ensuring that vaccines remain stable and accessible.

“Unless rapid actions are taken to transition to sustainable cooling and to lower cooling demand,
cooling will play a growing role in accelerating climate change.” (UNEP, 2023)

 

In this critical decade of climate action, addressing ODS and HFC banks is a multi-billion tonne climate mitigation opportunity that we have to seize. COPA is a comprehensive, pragmatic and fast action approach that will make a real difference

CLARE PERRY, CLIMATE CAMPAIGN LEADER, ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY (EIA)