Cold is an absence of energy. So it’s not surprising that our global need for cooling has largely been overlooked by policymakers as they wrestle with the energy challenges that we face. But this oversight simply can’t continue.
Cooling is central to modern life and it places an enormous strain on national and international energy systems. Refrigeration and air conditioning alone create 10% of global CO2 emissions, which is three times the amount attributable to shipping and aviation combined. In that context, and given the ambitious carbon reduction targets that were set in Paris last year, it’s remarkable that cold has been overlooked for so long.
While the impact of cooling is significant today, if we look forward then the issue becomes even more daunting. As populations in developing countries grow, become richer and increasingly live in cities, their lifestyles will change. Demand for everything from air conditioning to chilled food will continue to increase and so will the proportion of energy that’s used to keep people and things cold.
The global impact could be staggering. The IPCC suggested that demand for air conditioning will grow 33-fold to consume 10,000 TW of electricity by 2100, approximately half of all electricity usage in 2010. Cold has been the Cinderella of the energy debate, but if we are going to make a meaningful impact on energy efficiency, then cooling has to come in from the cold.
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