The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Inger Andersen on Tuesday expressed hope at the ongoing climate talks in Dubai, UAE and said the move are ways to slash greenhouse gas emissions in line with the 1.5°C and 2°C pathways of the Paris Agreement.
The Kigali Amendment, reached in 2016, aims to gradually phase down the consumption and production of HFCs based on the consensus that they are powerful greenhouse gases.
Speaking during the official launching of the Global Cooling Watch report, the senior UN official emphasized that the cooling sector must grow to protect everyone from rising temperatures, maintain food quality and safety, keep vaccines stable and economies productive
According to her, there us need to do this while giving every person on this planet the chance at development and a decent life, including by adapting to climate change. Sustainable Cooling, a priority of the COP28 UAE Presidency, hits every one of these points.
The cooling sector, according to Ms. Andersen must grow to protect everyone from rising temperatures, maintain food quality and safety, keep vaccines stable and economies productive. These are all essential elements of sustainable development. But business as usual growth would double the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, which is an outcome we must avoid.
Adopting higher efficiency standards, according to the new report, including Minimum Energy Performance Standards and labelling. Accelerating the phase-down of climate-warming hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants through the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol remains crucial
In addition to slowing climate change, following these measures, and implementing the Global Cooling Pledge, would allow low-emissions cooling to reach an additional 3.5 billion people, save US$22 trillion for end-users and the power sector, and reduce global peak load demand by between 1.5 and 2 terawatts, which is almost double the EU’s total generation capacity today. If rapid grid decarbonization were added to these actions, predicted 2050 emissions could be reduced by 96 per cent, it said.
A lack of cooling can lead to serious health problems, and even death, during heatwaves. Women, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities are especially vulnerable to this. Cooling also strains power grids during hot periods leading to higher costs and, for many, frequent power disruptions, which are particularly dangerous during heatwaves.
The Global Cooling Pledge, led by COP28 host the United Arab Emirates, is designed to make things like air conditioners, deep freezers and heat-dissipating homes more affordable, especially in developing countries, while reining in planet-warming emissions from the sprawling cooling sector.
So far, Governments have already signalled their commitment to do so through thepledge.
According to the senior UN official, Finance also needs to rise, although the US$22 trillion in savings and the societal benefits of deep emissions cuts would make the sustainable cooling transition affordable
“I am asking governments, the private sector and financiers to get behind the Global Cooling Pledge with real money and real action, so we can all be cool,” she said.
