UAE, 6 December 2023 (TDI): 63 countries joined a pledge on Tuesday to deeply cut cooling-related emissions at the United Nations COP28 Summit in Dubai, according to a statement released by the UN.
The Global Cooling Pledge marks the world’s first collective focus on climate-warming emissions from cooling, which includes refrigeration for food and medicine and air conditioning.
Furthermore, it commits countries to reduce their cooling-related emissions by 2030 to at least 68% in comparison to 2022 levels, in addition to some other goals, such as setting minimum energy performance guidelines by 2030.
UK Climate Campaign Leader, Clare Perry, said, “Sustainable cooling is fundamental to climate mitigation, adaptation, and our sustainable development goals. Coordinated and ambitious action at the global level to achieve sustainable cooling is long overdue and the Global Cooling Pledge is very welcome”
He continued, “But we expect a robust and transparent governance structure to ensure accountability and early implementation and we expect the pledge to be strengthened over time. Otherwise, it’s just empty promises.”
Approximately 1.2 billion people still do not have access to cooling. By the middle of the century, installed capacity is expected to triple because of rising temperatures, expanding populations, and rising incomes.
However, those additional ACs exacerbate the climate crisis. A report by a coalition led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that cooling emissions will reach 4.4 billion to 6.1 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2050.
Jürgen Fischer, president of climate solutions at Danish multinational Danfoss, which specializes in heating and cooling, stated, “People will plug in a very cheap air conditioner produced somewhere in Asia for $100 and buy it.”
“That will load the energy system a lot, and there will be a collapse,” he continued.
Also Read: COP28: 118 countries sign pledge to triple renewables by 2030
As of Tuesday morning, country which is likely to see the greatest growth in demand for cooling in the coming decades, India, still had not joined the pledge.
Before this, representatives of the Indian government informed the media that they were unwilling to go further than the limits set in 1992 by the international Montreal Protocol to control the manufacture and use of chemicals that deplete the ozone layer and hydrofluorocarbons that are used for cooling.
At least 118 countries have favored another COP28 pledge which is to triple renewable energy by 2030 and double energy efficiency rates.
Up until 2030, annual check-ins at the annual UN climate summits will be used to monitor progress towards achieving the goals of the cooling pledge.
