Sustainable Cooling Could Save $17 Trillion, Cut Emissions 64%
BELEM -Amid rising heatwaves and surging demand for cooling, adopting sustainable cooling practices could significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions, save trillions of dollars, and expand life-saving cooling access to those who need it, according to a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report released on November 11.
The ‘Global Cooling Watch 2025’, launched at COP-30 in Belem, Brazil, highlights the urgent need for a shift. The report finds that global cooling demand could more than triple by 2050 under a business-as-usual scenario. This massive increase is driven by population growth, rising wealth, more extreme heat events, and increased access to cooling by low-income households, often using inefficient equipment. This trajectory would nearly double cooling-related greenhouse gas emissions over 2022 levels, pushing total cooling emissions to an estimated 7.2 billion tons of CO2 by 2050. This surge would occur despite ongoing efforts to improve energy efficiency and phase down climate-warming refrigerants, ultimately overwhelming power grids during peak load.
The report suggests that implementing a ‘Sustainable Cooling Pathway’ could drastically reduce emissions to 2.6 billion tons of CO2 by 2050, representing a 64 percent reduction compared to the business-as-usual forecast. When this pathway is combined with the rapid decarbonization of the global power sector, the residual cooling emissions could fall to 97 percent below the expected 2050 levels.
“As deadly heat waves become more regular and extreme, access to cooling must be treated as essential infrastructure alongside water, energy and sanitation,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. She stressed that the world “cannot air condition our way out of the heat crisis,” which would only drive greenhouse gas emissions higher and raise costs. She advocated for passive, energy-efficient, and nature-based solutions to meet growing cooling needs while pursuing global climate goals.
The report, published by the UNEP-led Cool Coalition, offers a comprehensive assessment of the rapidly growing global cooling demand and the necessity for climate-friendly solutions.
The Sustainable Cooling Pathway outlined in the report emphasizes a strong focus on passive techniques, low-energy and hybrid cooling that combines fans and air conditioners which consume little or no power. This approach can provide access to space cooling or refrigeration, resilient buildings, and urban green spaces to all, including vulnerable groups like smallholder farmers, women, and the elderly—without intensifying the climate crisis. This pathway requires the rapid adoption of high-efficiency equipment and the accelerated phase-down of hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants under the Kigali Amendment.
Nearly two-thirds of the available emissions cuts come from passive and low-energy solutions, underscoring the urgency of integrating them into national policies and urban planning. Such solutions are highly affordable and are critical for improving cooling access for the three billion more people who will need it by 2050.
If adopted, the pathway could result in cumulative energy savings of $17 trillion through 2050 and avoid up to $26 trillion in necessary grid investment due to reduced electricity demand. (IANS)
